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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24406351">Honey, You're the One Who Suffers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1ashi1dr/pseuds/C1ashi1dr'>C1ashi1dr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who &amp; Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Arranged Marriage, Corruption, Dark, Dark Doctor (Doctor Who), F/F, Jodie Whittaker as the Master, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:54:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>37,469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24406351</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1ashi1dr/pseuds/C1ashi1dr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yasmin Khan knew the consequences for trying to escape Gallifrey with the Doctor would be high, but she couldn't have expected this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan, Yasmin Khan &amp; Ryan Sinclair</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>78</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i promised it would be here and here it is. So a couple things about this fic: the doctor isn't explicitly described so we can call it dhawan!doctor or whatever you want. he's not going to show up very much and will really only be talked about. the rating will probably go up for descriptions of violence but that's all. this does not have a set ending so it goes where it may. i have no idea how many chapters it will be so yeah. it's also unbetad so any mistakes are mine. </p>
<p>enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yaz was under no illusions when she got summons to the Capitol that fateful evening. It wasn’t that she’d been expecting the exact message she got, but she’d been expecting something. It wasn’t often that the Time Lords called a simple Gallifreyan to their bustling home, but Yaz supposed she wasn’t a normal Gallifreyan. It wasn’t normal, at the very least, to attempt to steal a TARDIS with one of the most well known Time Lords.</p>
<p>The Doctor had been everything they said he was. Kind, all smiles and offers of the universe and when he’d taken her down to the TARDIS repair shop, she’d really thought...she’d hoped more than anything that he would take her to the stars and show her the universe. Anything to get off of Gallifrey he said. He’d called her brave. He’d taken her hand, flashed her a smile and told her all about the planets that he’d visited.</p>
<p>They’d snuck into the only repair shop in Arcadia, a small, rundown place that required express orders from the Lord President to enter. The Doctor had bluffed his way through, talking so fast that the guard in charge had gotten lost and let him through without a second thought. It had been charming in the moment, but Yaz could hear the rambling voice echoing in her brain, driving rage in her. Then he’d pulled her in along with him, past the guard, and they’d run down the halls, weaving past the security.</p>
<p>When they’d found the TARDIS, he’d tried knocking on the door, tried shoving a key in the lock, talking soothingly to it, everything he could think of. The guards had almost caught up, time was ticking down the clock but Yaz still trusted him. She still had faith in him. It had been a strange feeling, that faith, that hope. </p>
<p>Then the guards had gotten there and he’d slipped into the TARDIS. The doors slid shut behind him, regardless of her hand already reaching for it. She’d pounded against the door, fear crawling up her throat but that hope still there, that he’d open the door and pull her in and it would be okay, that the stars were waiting. The first guard grabbed her arm and the TARDIS gave a mighty groan of effort before fading right before her eyes. Staring at the spot where it should have been, Yaz let the guards pull her away from the empty space, throw her into the street with a warning that someone would be coming for her. </p>
<p>She shook her head, dragging herself back to the present. She’d known this was coming, she’d prepared for it, lined up all her affairs. Being confronted with the fact however...</p>
<p>Crumpling the paper in her fist, she shoved the message into her pocket. So much for bravery. He’d left without her, he’d gone off into the universe and left her behind when the soldiers caught up to them. He’d looked at her with big eyes, sad but not regretful and he turned and he left her on Gallifrey to face everything on her own. </p>
<p>But betrayal wasn’t an experience new to Yaz, it hadn’t been for a long time. The people of Arcadia, while occasionally well meaning, still had an ounce of self preservation left in them and information was worth more than any currency in the galaxy. Her family had paid a steep price for attempting to cover up Sonya’s birth but it had ended poorly then. She’d not seen Sonya since they were both kids and there were soldiers taking Sonya away to join them. It was the only time she’d seen her father cry, not even when another citizen had reported that they were making arrangements to leave the planet. He’d been let off with a warning, but the terror of having soldiers in her house again (Yaz had been 13 at that point) still lingered at the edges of her dreams. </p>
<p>“They’re requesting you now, Miss Khan.” The soldier who had brought the message was terse and Yaz knew that it was probably one of the ones who had dealt with her only days earlier. “There is nothing required for the trip, though perhaps you should bring something to entertain you. The transport there tends to take a bit of time and the scenery can get a bit monotonous.”</p>
<p>Yaz cocked an eyebrow. A bit of emotion from a soldier? That almost never occurred and she treasured the thought for a moment. Rumors in Arcadia weren’t always true, but the oldest ones took on the guise of facts, and that was alright with Yaz. She did as he’d said, she grabbed a book and followed him out the door, not bothering to spare a glance for the home that she’d grown up in. It hadn’t been a home for many years.</p>
<p>As a member of such a supposedly advanced society, Yaz had little to no care for the affairs of the Time Lords or really the happenings of Arcadia. She did her job, teaching young adults self defense, went home and stayed mostly to herself. She didn’t even have a lot of mates, not really, just a few people from work that checked on her occasionally.</p>
<p>The journey indeed was long, giving Yaz plenty of time to read over the summons. She’d memorized the words mere minutes into the ride. It was terse, short, just like the Time Lords. There, of course, was no clue as to what would be awaiting her the moment she walked into the Citadel. The Time Lords loved to play with their victims, it was well known by everyone that there wasn’t a Time Lord out there who didn’t enjoy watching beings lower than them squirm. Yaz had thought that the Doctor would be the exception.</p>
<p>She was wrong. </p>
<p>Flicking idly through her book, letting the words wash over her, Yaz took the time to contemplate escape. It was probably futile to try and get away from the Time Lords, but if it meant that she got to go down fighting, maybe she’d give it a shot.</p>
<p>“‘M Ryan,” the guard said suddenly, breaking the silence sharply. They were the only ones in the carriage of the transport. "In case you were wondering." He shifted then took of his helmet, giving Yaz the first proper look at him that she'd gotten. </p>
<p>The first thought that struck her, unbidden and completely irrational, was that he looked kind. His eyes were soft and he was smiling, something that she didn't see often even at home. He extended a hand then, his smile brightening a bit even as she regarded him with suspicion.</p>
<p>She took it hesitantly, shaking his hand and he nodded to himself for a bit before continuing to talk.</p>
<p>"I meant to say this earlier, but I want to apologize for being so rough with you the other day," he said. "A little new to this, don't really know how to do everything and I'm really sorry if I hurt you." </p>
<p>She searched his face for sincerity, finding it there easily. He really must have been new if he was being so open and so honest with someone he was supposed to be escorting. Maybe she could use that to his advantage. She needed information and she needed it before the Time Lords could give it to her (or withhold it). Information was power.</p>
<p>"I'm Yaz," she said, deciding to go the amicable route. "Probably knew that already and all." She shifted in her seat and then met his eyes, doing her best to soften her gaze. It felt strange to allow that little quirk of her lips that could have been considered a smile.</p>
<p>"Nice to meet you Yaz," Ryan said. "Maybe we can get started properly this time?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'd really like that," Yaz said. There was a natural pause there, one that Yaz let sink in for a moment before speaking again. "Ryan, do you know why they're summoning me to the Citadel?" </p>
<p>"They don't give me all the details," Ryan said. "Just that I needed to go with the others to give you the summons." She deflated. So much for having knowledge. Ryan must have taken pity on her, because he made a small noise. "I can tell you they're making up a room for you," he said. "So if you're worried about them killing you the moment you get there, I'm sure that's not going to happen."</p>
<p>"Thanks, Ryan," Yaz said, and was surprised to feel that she meant it. She was lucky to have such a nice guard, she knew that the chances were probably astronomical, though astronomical odds always seemed to be on her side. </p>
<p>The rest of the ride was taken in silence, the endless desert and silver grass of Galifrey stretching out before them. She kept her gaze outside the window most of the time, but Ryan didn't put his helmet back on, instead opening a book of his own. Yaz had to admit that she was curious as to why this soldier was being so...well, empathetic. There had been so many rumors that ran about Arcadia saying that the soldiers had emotions removed from them. Supposedly, it made them fight better, though Yaz.</p>
<p>"You work in the Capitol, then?" Yaz asked, giving up on focusing on her book. The words kept blurring in front of her, mind wandering far too easily. She wasn't able to sit for long enough to focus on a book on a good day, but on a transport that could lead to her death? If Yaz knew anything, it was her own mind and she knew that focusing would be impossible while Ryan was sat right there. "What's it like, working with the Time Lords?"</p>
<p>He closed the book, set it to the side, next to his helmet, and turned his attention to her. All of it. It was strange. "It's bit scary if I'm honest," Ryan said. "They're very quiet though, keep to themselves. They don't like meddling from anyone, least of all the guards they hire so most of the time their discussions take place behind doors where we can't hear them. They dont' even address us a lot of the time, there are even a few who show active disdain." He shuddered.</p>
<p>"Do they really just sit in meetings all day? Nothing more?" </p>
<p>"Sometimes they do other things. The Lord President usually holds audiences where people can come and talk about their problems. The rest of the Time Lords don't seem to like it that much."  He tipped his head to the side, expression thoughtful. "Though I guess they talk about the war a lot."</p>
<p>Ah, yes, the Time War. Or maybe, it would be more accurately said, the Time Lord's War. They culled the children of the populace to fight for them, but it was their rivalry with the Daleks. They'd caused the war and sent others to fight for them. Time Lords, after all, were above the dirtying act of war.  They had to prove to the universe that they, the Lords of Time would not stoop so low as to fight their own war. </p>
<p>"Do you know anything about that?"</p>
<p>"Just a bit," Ryan said. "They don't tell us much, and the meetings about the war usually last for hours. There's even been one that lasted for a week."</p>
<p>"A week?" Yaz asked, incredulous. She'd heard rumors, but... "didn't they need to sleep?"</p>
<p>"I've never seen one of them asleep, but they could do it when no one is looking. We don't really know a lot about them, if I'm honest. The Time Lords are strange, we're all really...nervous about them." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "But even then, I dunno if I wanna be in there anyway. From what the Doctor said-" He cut himself off, and a mix of emotions swirled through Yaz like a whirlwind. Pain, betrayal, and a dash of hope. Hope that Yaz knew was pointless but she couldn't push away because the possibility that the Doctor might still be on Gallifrey, that he had come back for her...</p>
<p>"The Doctor?" she croaked out. He looked guilty, glancing down at his hands, then at his helmet. "You met him before?" </p>
<p>"Yeah," Ryan answered after a long moment of silence. "He used to live in the Citadel, just like the rest of the Time Lords. He was a bit more in and out, always coming and going and the others always seemed to be so angry with him, but he was always very nice to the guards." He fell silent after that, awkward now and Yaz cursed herself for being so eager. "I'm really sorry about what happened."</p>
<p>"Not your fault," Yaz muttered, staring out the window. "Made my own stupid choices, now I gotta live with it. Just wish the Doctor hadn't left me behind." </p>
<p>Ryan fell silent after that. Yaz herself wasn’t sure how to finish the conversation, how to continue it, how to do anything other than stare at him. The rest of the ride was silent like that, with Ryan only speaking moments before they were fit to dock. </p>
<p>“When we get inside, I’ll be escorting you directly to the chambers that have been set aside for you,” he said. “I’m not sure when you’ll be summoned before the Time Lords, but I presume it will not be until later, so I advise getting comfortable.” He slotted his helmet back over his head, adjusted the holster of his weapon. “You won’t be able to go to any place in the Capitol without an escort. That would be me.” She could hear the grin in his voice. “But the Time Lords should leave you alone until the time they decide to see you.”</p>
<p>“So I’m at the whim of the Time Lords but they won’t even see me until they decide to?”</p>
<p>“No,” Ryan said. “And you should be grateful for that. You might see one about, but most of the ones who interact with...guests, those are the ones you don’t have to worry about as much. Well, except for-'' He cut himself off and Yaz could hear the way he carefully chose the words. She wanted to tell him that it was alright to call her a prisoner, that’s what she was. But it seemed that she’d finally made an ally and Yaz didn’t want to push that away. </p>
<p>“Except for who?” Yaz asked and Ryan looked away, nodding to one of the other guards as they passed into the city. “Ryan?”</p>
<p>“Listen, Yaz, I don’t know a lot. I’m just a guard, I can’t help with the big stuff, I’m just meant to keep you safe until the Time Lords can deal with you.” Gone was the joking demeanor, and in its place was a grim tone and low voice. “But I can tell you that you don’t want to mess with most of the Time Lords here.” He swallowed briefly, audibly, and Yaz leaned forward, as did he. “And I can tell you that you should watch your back. There’s a lot going on right now and it’s dangerous for someone who hasn’t been around here.”</p>
<p>Yaz opened her mouth to ask more questions, maybe even advice, when Ryan straightened and the door to the transport opened. One of the other guards was standing there and Ryan got to his feet, slipping out with ease. Yaz followed, stumbling out onto solid ground for the first time in hours. She looked around at the giant glass dome towering overhead, the spires, the twin suns.</p>
<p>They led her up to her room. Ryan was silent the entire way up, taking up the back of the escort. He didn’t even acknowledge her attempt to look back at him and she wondered briefly if the entire exchange on the transport had been imagined. This was the Citadel, after all, the home of the Time Lords. Time Lords who, according to rumor, could reach into minds and alter memories at will.</p>
<p>With a shudder, Yaz steered her brain back to safer territory, holding tight to the crumpled paper in her pocket. They walked her up and up and up, stairs until Yaz was certain that they must have been in the atmosphere. Then they opened a pair of large ornate doors, practically shoved her inside. </p>
<p>Yaz stumbled to the window almost immediately, pulling the paper from her pocket to throw it onto the nearest flat surface. Catching a glimpse of the sky, Yaz relaxed a bit. At least she could look outside and, where there was a way to look outside, there might be an opportunity for escape. She turned her gaze back to the interior of the room, scoffing the moment she did so.</p>
<p>“Time Lords,” she muttered to the empty air. “Always so pompous.” It was nothing like home, the bed large, looking softer than anything Yaz had slept in, a grandly carved dresser in the corner, circular furnishings. The ceiling towered over her, the floor smooth and shiny. Everything gave the appearance of being recently cleaned. </p>
<p>She glanced back at the sky then, the gentle orange that always looked so aggressive to her. <br/>It was because of the Doctor that all of this happened. He'd left her to face the consequences of his actions. She vowed then that she'd never forgive him, no matter what happened. She hated him. That's what the feeling was, constantly burning in her gut when she thought up him, the pain of betrayal, yes, but icy at the ends, gouging marks into her heart. It was hate. She hated the Doctor. And she swore then that if she made it out of the Capitol alive, she'd do whatever it took to make him pay. </p>
<p>“Oh, such hatred,” a sickly smooth voice said from the doorway. Yaz whipped around, fear spiking through her stomach. A woman stood propped against her doorway, arms crossed over her chest. “I’ve not felt anything like it for ages. It’s all boring bureaucracy and petty feuds. It’s refreshing.”</p>
<p>“Who are you?” Yaz said, fighting a sudden stutter. “Why are you here?”</p>
<p>“You can call me the Master.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yaz has a...conversation with the Master and, while getting food with Ryan, is called to the chamber of the High Council.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tw for descriptions of choking and asphyxiation </p><p>here's chapter 2 everyone. hope you enjoy the Master and please let me know what i can do to improve her!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were stories told in Arcadia, in back alleys and whispered halls of the school, of a Time Lord that held as much infamy as the Doctor did fame. Their name was whispered in the darkest corners, as if merely speaking it could bring the Time Lord stalking down the street, murder in their eyes. Master. </p><p>It was said that the Master had ravaged whole civilizations that merely spoke the name of the Doctor. Countless had fallen to their hands, planets toppled like dominoes and whole species wiped out in the span of moments. It was horrific. The Doctor and the Master, names always spoken in tandem of what could go so wrong with a group of Time Lords, one who dedicated their life to saving civilizations (breaking the laws of time as if they were made of sticks) and the other, stepping on every life form beneath their heel. It was terrifying, stories that followed each Gallifreyan from birth, what their wiser, more powerful counterparts were so capable of. It was almost as if the High Council lorded the two Time Lords over the rest of the Gallifreyans, a warning about what could happen if the Time Lords weren’t so benevolent.</p><p>And Yaz had to wonder if there was some exaggeration to the stories. No one person could do so much evil without consequence. Some thought that the Time Lords supported the Master, sent them to do dirty work but it was hard for Yaz to believe. Did she think the Time Lords were benevolent? No, not in the slightest. Did she think they were too caught up in their petty squabbles to set someone murdering whole planets? Yes. Someone like the Master would disrupt time and the Time Lords, by all accounts, despised that. </p><p>But with the Master standing in front of her, blonde hair swept up into a high ponytail, a few pieces of fringe hanging down the sides of her face, Yaz had to wonder if maybe the stories were true. She looked strangely put together for a homicidal maniac, eyes cold and calculated and a small smirk gracing her lips. She looked almost predatory as she pushed off against the door frame. Though this was only the second Time Lord that Yaz had ever met, she could tell that the Master's taste in clothes was less eccentric than the Doctor's. </p><p>She was wearing a crimson button down, gold scrawlings of circular Gallifreyan all over it. Yaz couldn't really read it, recognized a symbol or two but not enough to garner the meaning. It didn't really matter, did it, in the end? Beyond that, she was wearing black pants and boots, carrying herself with an air of superiority. Her lips were ruby red, perhaps the only bit of makeup she was wearing and Yaz’s gaze darted back up the moment she realized she was staring. </p><p>"What are you doing here?" Yaz asked, swallowing the fear creeping up from the pit of her stomach. Whether she believed the stories or not, she wasn't an idiot. The Master was dangerous, she could see it in the line of her muscles as she crossed the room, stalking towards her. Her movements were smooth but brimming with calculation. She could see it in the way her eyes locked with Yaz's and that smirk grew a bit wider.</p><p>"Heard there was a new human in the citadel," the Master said with a shrug, though that smirk didn't fade. "Wanted to make sure the rumors were true. It appears they are." They were almost standing toe to toe then, the Master nearly touching her and Yaz couldn't find the willpower to pull away. "He always loves a pretty face."</p><p>"Who?" Yaz croaked out and the Master gave an obviously fake pout, her lips down turned, the bottom one jutting out almost comically. Yaz would have laughed at the expression if she didn't find it so sinister. Then, as if she were touching a fragile sculpture, the Master pressed a delicate finger under her chin, tipping her head up just the slightest bit. Whatever difference in height there was between them, it was made more drastic by that simple movement.</p><p>"The Doctor, sweetheart, do keep up." The words were breathed quietly, almost sympathetically. Yaz strained her ears to hear the words, but it wasn't necessary. Yaz swallowed thickly before the Master pulled away, moving across the room. "Such a shame that he left you here, though he always was a bit-"</p><p>"You've seen me," Yaz said, cutting across the words with surety that she wasn't sure she possessed. "Leave me alone." </p><p>"That's no way to treat one of your hosts," the Master said, turning back to face her. There was something in her eyes, something that Yaz couldn't figure out and she wasn't sure she wanted to figure it out. Then the Master shook her head. "And I would make allies if I were you. The Time Lords don't have a reputation for being kind."</p><p>"And you do?" Yaz retorted, feeling annoyance bubble up at the Master's smug expression. She clenched her hands into fists. "Listen, I didn't do anything wrong-"</p><p>"Of course you didn't," she interrupted, groaning and rolling her eyes. "And even if you did, it wouldn't matter. You tried to run away with the Doctor. I don't know how well-versed you are in Gallifreyan politics but the Doctor isn't well liked, even by those who have helped him in the past. Anyone who attempts to help him is considered a renegade of sorts. You weren't helping him but you were with him when he ran away. That's enough for most of the old idiots in charge. You, Yasmin Khan, are a scapegoat, which is unfortunate." She was back in Yaz's space, almost touching her but not quite and this time Yaz had the mind to step back, put some space between her and the madwoman. And this time, she started circling Yaz, moving slowly but precisely, almost touching her but not quite.</p><p>She was playing mind games. </p><p>"How do you-"</p><p>"We've  been over this," The Master said, shaking her head. "You're completely hopeless. Maybe his taste is slipping." It was then that she stopped, stood in front of her, a hairs breadth away. She drew a hand down Yaz's face, cupping her chin briefly to turn her head this way and that. It was like she was examining a piece of meat. Her palms were cold against Yaz's chin, and she couldn't tell if the shiver that threatened to rip through her was due to the touch or the proximity. Her hand moved then, to her face, holding it while she stared deep into Yaz's eyes, hers stormy with something that Yaz couldn't pick out. </p><p>"Get away from me," Yaz said, hating the tiny tremor in her voice. The Master's face was too close, she was too close and Yaz wanted to pull away but she couldn't. If the Doctor had been intriguing, the Master was hypnotizing, drawing Yaz in until she slapped the Master’s hand away from her face. Before she could second guess herself, she shoved at the Time Lord's shoulders as hard as she could. There needed to be distance between them.</p><p>The Master stumbled back a couple paces, a startled look crossing her face for a fraction of a second before a look of rage crossed it. In two strides she was back in front of Yaz and her fingers were wrapping around the human's throat, squeezing tight. Panic surged in Yaz and she gasped, hand flying to the Master's wrist but she didn't let go. The pressure, in fact, seemed to increase. She was quickly backed against the wall, pinned there by the weight of the Master pressed against her throat and another hand at her shoulder to keep her in place. </p><p>"You'd do well to learn your place here, Yasmin Khan," the Master hissed at her. Yaz could barely hear the words over her own gasps for breath and her pounding heart. "You're nothing but a pawn in a game, you do not mean anything beyond your value to the High Council and whatever the Doctor saw in you, and maybe even not that. You are insignificant." She fell quiet, watching Yaz, eyes burning with rage. Yaz tried to say something but the grip tightened and Yaz coughed, vision starting to go black at the edges, ears ringing dully. "Am I understood?"</p><p>Yaz's mouth moved but no words were coming out. She was trying to form an answer, to form anything, but nothing emerged but a rattling, formless croak. Just as she was about to slip away into the depths of unconsciousness, the Master dropped her. Yaz crumpled to her knees, a dull crack ringing through the air when they hit the floor. She was holding her neck gently as she sucked greedy breaths into her lungs. Her heart was racing, she could feel it against her fingers, the quick pulse of almost-death pumping oxygen through her starved veins. The Master stood over her, frowning with disappointment. </p><p>Once more, she reached down and tipped Yaz's head up, shaking her head while clicking her tongue. Yaz stared up at her with as much hatred as she could muster in the moment, gasping for breath and still so close to passing out. "This is a very dangerous place for people like you. I would advise being cautious about who you trust."</p><p>And then she was striding out of the room without another word, without giving Yaz the chance to talk back, to say anything in her defense. Yaz watched her go, anger flaring in her stomach, yes but also confusion, hurt. It was hard to decipher and as she rubbed her hand over her throat once more, she hoped that she'd never see the Master again. She didn't know what she'd do if she did.</p><p>Yaz got a few minutes of peace to herself, a chance to catch her breath, slow her racing heart, glance at the bruises blossoming on the plane of her throat. Her thoughts never slowed, however, and she couldn't help but think over the last few minutes, replaying it over. The Master was dangerous, that much was clear. More so than the Doctor, and she didn't seem to have any ability to be kind like the Doctor had been. </p><p>There was a knock at the door, though Yaz hadn't closed it and she was certain the Master wouldn't offer her the courtesy. Looking up, she saw Ryan standing there, concern written across his face. His helmet was already off, braced against his hip. </p><p>"The Master sent me up here to check on you," he said. "Are you alright?"</p><p>"I'm fine," Yaz said, but Ryan's eyes flicked to her throat, widening a moment. "Really, Ryan, I'm alright."</p><p>He stared at her for another moment before coming closer, kneeling down next to her. His eyes were kind and Yaz realized that kindness was going to be in short supply at the Capitol, if the Master was any indication. "You can tell me if it's not. It's my job to keep you safe."</p><p>"I'm fine," she insisted. The Master's words echoed in her head just then, ringing through her head as though it were a bell. Ryan wasn’t someone she could trust, not yet anyway. They’d barely interacted, he’d offered a few kind words on the transport but that could mean anything. "But I'm feelin' a bit hungry..."</p><p>It proved enough to distract him and Ryan nodded, straightening back up, dusting off his pants briefly. He offered a hand, but she pushed it away. <i> Can’t trust anyone, </i> she chanted internally. <i> Can’t trust anyone. </i> </p><p>She followed his lead, pulling herself off the floor. It couldn't have been that long between when the Master had come in and when Ryan had, but it felt like a lifetime. Her legs were numb, blood rushing back to them and bringing with it the pins and needles she always hated. Yaz stumbled, Ryan caught her with a steadying hand and she offered a small smile. Why was she letting the Master get to her?</p><p>They'd just made it out the door, closing the large ornate fixtures behind them when another guard came walking up. Ryan straightened, grabbed Yaz's arm in a vice grip. Everyone in the Citadel seemed out to bruise her, she could feel the tips of his fingers digging in harshly. She squared her shoulders, however, aware of the markings on her neck. </p><p>"Sinclair, where are you going with Miss Khan?" the other guard asked. Yaz couldn't see his eyes from where she was standing, the light casting shadows over his face. "The Lord President made it clear that she was to go nowhere without two guards as an escort."</p><p>"I'm taking her to get food," Ryan replied. "If you wish to accompany us you can, but her well-being is my responsibility at the moment." They stared at each other for a long moment, Yaz feeling his fingers starting to twitch against her arm. Finally, the other guard stepped aside and allowed Ryan to lead Yaz down the staircase. The moment they were out of sight, his hand dropped away from her arm and she rubbed it carefully. Hopefully there wouldn't be bruises there in the morning, not like the ones that would surely be prominent against her neck for weeks to come. </p><p>They took the stairs slowly, and in silence, and it gave Yaz time to look out the windows of the tower as they descended. There was the orange sky, the twins sun, one of which was slowly starting to sink below the horizon. Yaz didn't know what time it was, didn't know how much time had passed since she'd left home. Her stomach grumbled halfway down the stairs and Ryan chuckled at her side.</p><p>"You weren't kidding, huh?" He asked and Yaz shrugged.</p><p>"Been a long day. Didn't have much for breakfast and there's been a lot of stress," Yaz replied and then they lapsed back into silence. She ought to thank him, for helping her get food, for helping her general, but her encounter with the Master still bounced about her head, the sinister words bouncing around in  her head, no matter how she tried to chase them away.  It was as if they’d been branded into her, burned into the front of her brain, flashing neon signs that warned her any time she wanted to reach out and connect with Ryan.</p><p>They reached the bottom of the stairs and Ryan continued to lead her through the labyrinth of the Citadel, winding corridors and looming ceilings. The walls seemed inherently artistically made, winding bits of metal making up both structures. It all looked like clockwork (Time Lords, obviously, would they do anything else?) and Yaz lost track of how many times her eyes could no longer follow the intricate patterns, the weaving poles that acted both as support and decoration. Any beautiful architecture from Arcadia paled in comparison to it.</p><p>"Ryan," she said suddenly, startling the both of them. Ryan jumped at her side, reaching for the staser he had at his side and Yaz wondered for a moment if she’d made a mistake. Then he chuckled, waved off the startled movement with a hand and invited her to continue speaking. "D'you know how to read Circular Gallifreyan?" </p><p>"A bit," Ryan said. "I've picked up by moving documents back and forth between the Time Lords but not enough to be useful. Mostly just names but even then it's spotty." Yaz sighed. So much for that. He seemed to notice and gave an apologetic shrug. "Sorry."</p><p>"No, no, it's no worry," Yaz said. "I just..."</p><p>"You want something to surprise the High Council with?" Ryan asked and Yaz nodded, deciding that was the more logical answer than she'd been about to give. He needn't know that she wanted to figure out what those words on the Master's coat said. "I might be able to find someone who can teach you but I have no idea how long it'll be until they want to meet with you. I'll do my best but I can't guarantee anything."</p><p>"Don't worry about it, if it's gonna be a problem," Yaz said. "I expect they'll want to see me soon, if only to free up space in their guest room." She tried for a wry chuckle but it fell flat between them. He hummed thoughtfully, didn’t say anything else, and a more natural, comfortable silence fell between them.</p><p>They arrived at the kitchen soon after that, Ryan only giving a noncommittal hum at her statement before he shoved her through the doors. The smell of food immediately greeted her, wreathing about her like a ghost. It made her mouth water, she'd not smelled this many spices since her days as a child when it was easier to afford spices and seasonings in Arcadia. It had been so long ago, when Sonya had still been with them and they'd been a happy family gathered around the table.</p><p>Yaz swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat while Ryan went to negotiate for some food. He'd pulled off his helmet the moment he entered the door, inhaling deeply before sighing out with happiness. She didn’t want to drag him down with the sudden sour feeling in her gut and she put on her best smile when he turned to look at her, excited.</p><p>"Best place in the Capitol, this is. Food they make is top notch. Anything for the Time Lords." He made a grand gesture, waving about the room. It was impressive in size, filled with ovens and preparations stations, dozens of chefs running about, shouting orders. It was loud, yes, but in a bustling kind of way. It felt alive, unlike the rest of the Citadel. "Just give me a moment and I'll get you sorted out."</p><p>Ryan dashed off then, embracing an older man tightly. They chatted animatedly for a long while, Yaz pulling her gaze away after a few minutes, bored. That left her by herself,  next to the doors. The very open doors.</p><p>It was good, she could dash out. She could make a break for it and it was so tempting. The urge to do so was almost overwhelming and she didn't know what exactly kept her rooted to the spot. But when Ryan turned back, giving her a thumbs up, she knew that her chance had passed. His eyes were back on her and he was walking back, two plates in hand.</p><p>Even as he passed her a plate, she was cursing herself. What had kept her there? Why hadn't she taken the moment to bolt? It had been given to her, had been handed to her on a silver platter and still she hadn't taken it. She tucked into her food with a lingering feeling of unease. Something was going on, something was going wrong with her but she wasn't quite sure what it was. </p><p>She'd not even finished her food when the doors burst open and two guards entered, holding staser pistols in hand. They're aimed at her the moment they catch sight of her and Ryan, sitting at one of the little prep tables that's out of use for the moment. Fear didn't spike into her gut like she thought it would, and instead she dropped her fork peacefully, holding her hands up even as Ryan was lurching forward to talk to his fellows.</p><p>"What's the meaning of this?" he demanded, picking up his helmet to shove it on his head. "I already explained where she would be and there's no reason to come barging in with your pistols out." They didn't back down, however, and one shoved Ryan out of the way, holding him back away from Yaz.</p><p>"We're under express orders from the Lord President. She requested Yasmin Khan's presence immediate," one said. She grabbed Yaz's arm, where Ryan had. The skin flared briefly with pain and she winced but disguised it as well as she could. Ryan protested some more, mostly noises of annoyance as the other guard kept him away from her but eventually he gave up fighting, staring after her as she was pulled from the kitchen.</p><p>Yaz didn't put up much of a struggle. it was getting difficult to justify everything, difficult to tell herself to keep fighting back when it would be easier on her to just comply. Whatever the Lord President wanted, they got. It wasn't a matter of whether or not she wanted to have an audience with them or even if she wanted to be at the Citadel. </p><p>"You could have let me finish my food," she muttered under her breath and the guard didn't spare her a second thought. The grip on her arm loosened the further they got from Ryan and soon Yaz was just walking amicably next to the guard, who kept the staser pointed at her. Safety precaution.</p><p>They approached large ornate doors, larger and even more ornate than her own and there were two guards posted outside. They held staser rifles, catching Yaz's attention for a single moment before she fixed her gaze ahead. Her hand flew to her neck subconsciously, tracing over the bruises. No one said anything but she could feel gazes land on her as she was escorted into the room.</p><p>The guard at her side fell into step behind her, another taking their place at her right side. The hall was silent and Yaz spared a glance around her to see what was going on. Time Lords, everywhere. They had to be, with those horrible robes and swooping collars If there was one thing that never caught on in Arcadia, it was Time Lord fashion, with good reason. </p><p>Then her eyes moved to the front of the room, up to the place where the Lord President sat, surrounded by the rest of the High Council. She was prepared, she really was for whatever was to come. She knew the risks when she first went with the Doctor, not that she'd been expecting to be on the losing end of her gamble. </p><p>She was not, however, prepared to see the Master perched in the chair at the head of the table, facing her with that insufferable smirk on her face, eyes lording their victory over her.</p><p>"Yasmin Khan," she said, voice booming through the hall. The rest of the Time Lords turned to face her, their attention on her or Yaz, most of them on Yaz as she continued her slow approach. Her step faltered when their eyes met and the Master's smirk grew even cynical. The guards behind her shoved her back, one even adding a muttered "move it" for effect. </p><p>They walked her up to the end of the table, her side void of any chairs and they stood just a bit behind her, one on either side while she faced the Master. It was like they were alone in the room, the way the Master was focusing all her attention on her, all that concealed madness boring into her. A cold sweat broke out against her skin, made her tunic stick to her back. This was worse than before, she could feel the Master’s gaze dragging across her throat, over the bruises that she’d left there. There was no chance Yaz could speak out here and she bit the inside of her cheek, hoping the pain would distract her from the intense gaze the Master had fixed her with.</p><p>It didn’t work.</p><p>This didn't make any sense. The Master was a renegade, by all means an outcast in Time Lord society, Yaz knew the stories. She'd grown up on them, had begged her mother for retellings every evening until she could recite them by heart. Outcasts weren’t supposed to be in charge. None of this made any sense.</p><p>"The trial of Yasmin Khan will now commence," the Master declared, voice continuing to ring in the hall, though all eyes were already on her. She looked down at Yaz, her lip curling just the slightest bit. "Lord President presiding."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i know i'm taking a lot of creative liberties with this but i'm fairly unfamiliar with most of gallifreyan society so it's probably gonna get worse from here. sorry not sorry! please feel free to leave a kudos or a comment, they always make my day and stay safe everyone. ~jo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yaz is forced to defend herself while on trial and the decision made by the High Council is one that is quite strange.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Took three chapters to get to this point but here we are! Hope you guys enjoy and you don't go absolutely insane due to my horrible late night editing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Please state your full name, age, and current residence for the record." The voice seemed distant compared to the heartbeat thrumming in her ears. She could feel her body positively humming with the energy, the adrenaline of it all. She didn't answer for a long moment and the Master cleared her throat, that smirk never wavering.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Miss Khan," she said, leaning forward in her chair. Even from across the room Yaz could feel the shift of the air around her as the rest of the Time Lord's reacted. "My associate gave you an instruction. If you are unwilling to comply with requests, we won't have a choice but to take drastic measures. You wouldn't want that, would you?" There was a moment where the air was still and Yaz was sure those around her could hear the thundering of her heart. Then the Master-no, the Lord President- leaned back in her chair and motioned for her to speak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her throat was dry, words hard to get started, but once they did it was easy to speak. "Yasmin Umbreen Khan," she said, cursing how shaky her voice was. She cleared her throat, tried again. "25 years of age, currently residing in Arcadia." There, that was good, succinct. They looked startled that she'd even managed to get the words out, and Yaz was startled herself. She hadn't expected being able to speak so clearly. The only person in the room who didn't seem surprised was the Lord President, who only gave her that predatory smirk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was like she was willingly walking into a trap. Then the Master yawned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Is there anyway to speed this up a bit?" she asked when she'd drawn the attention of everyone in the room. Yaz hadn't been able to take her eyes off the imposing Time Lord the entire time. "I've got more urgent matters to attend to than the pitiful trial of some lowly human." Her words were laced with a sneer and Yaz might have felt offended if she wasn't so glad to be of so little consequence to the Lord President.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not sure what you mean ma'a-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I mean she's obviously guilty," The Master said. "Surely there's no need for this farcical show. She was caught in the act, there's little doubt about it. Cameras, guards, I'm sure if there'd been an interrogation before all of this she would have confessed." She gave a sly wink to Yaz who felt her blood boil even as heat rose to her cheeks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We are a civilised species, Lord President-" One of the stuffier looking Time Lords spoke up. He had long flowing robes, lined with silver and gold, and, unlike the rest of the Time Lords, he was closest to the Master. His very presence, however, seemed to be making her annoyed as she regarded him with little more than a scoff.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Exactly," the Master said. "That is precisely why we should declare her guilty and get it over with. Surely the rest of you agree." She cast her eyes about the room, but no one would meet her gaze. No one, that is, except Yaz, who had meant to look away when the Master's gaze swept over her. There was a small, almost unnoticeable shift in her expression. "Surely you, Miss Khan, agree."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Surely I don't," Yaz said before she could hold her tongue. Silence reigned for a long moment before she continued. "Why would I want to proclaim myself guilty?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Because there's no point drawing out the fight when everyone knows that you've done wrong, do keep up." She looked bored, properly bored. Yaz couldn't seem to get a read on her, figure out what her game was. How the Master managed to become Lord President in the first place, and why she'd gone to the trouble of messing with Yaz before the trial had even started, was beyond her. "Just confess your guilt and then we can all move on with our days."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lord President-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Quiet," the Master snapped and the smirk was gone in a moment, the amicable boredom, anything that would have made the Master anything seem anything other than the psychopath Yaz had heard she was, all of it flitted away as if it had never been. "I was addressing Miss Khan, not any of you. Gods know you're boring already, I can't imagine letting you loose to debate the merits of giving "proper" trials. I certainly wouldn't-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I want a trial," Yaz said, cutting the Master off. She hadn't the faintest clue where these surges of bravery were coming from but she didn't want them to leave her. She wasn't sure what would happen if she continued pushing the Master but here the Master couldn't hurt her, not physically. At least she certainly hoped not. "I didn't do anything wrong." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was silence for a moment before the Master shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I should have known," she sneered. "Alright, we'll do this the proper way, though I certainly hope you are prepared for the consequences of putting me through this." The word consequences dripped with unknown problems, promises of the future that Yaz wasn't sure she wanted to come to fruition. She tried her best to keep the quiet gulp unheard by the Master. They stared at each other for a moment before the Master turned to the man at her side. "Read the charges if you would. We might as well get this over with."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz bit her tongue was the man dug around for a scroll, finally producing one from one of the many folds in his robes. Yaz had been certain they couldn't possibly hold things in them. He cleared his throat, glancing at the Master every few seconds to make sure she wasn't going to hurt him. Then he started to read.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yasmin Umbreen Khan of Arcadia, you stand accused of attempting to steal a TARDIS and leave without authorization from the High Council." He read haltingly at first, gaining traction as he went, but Yaz didn't even bother to look at him. She kept her gaze on the Master, who seemed to be looking anywhere but at her. "How do you plead."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not guilty," Yaz said as firmly as she could, but was nearly drowned out by the Master's groan and dramatic flop against her chair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm certain you're doing this to pester me," the Time Lord said. it was as if she and Yaz were the only people in the room. She huffed quietly, sitting up in her chair when a few of the others looked at her with distaste. "Alright, alright, you lot stop looking at me like that. This is my court, I'm afraid and if you dislike it you can get the hell out." No one moved, though Yaz briefly wondered if the offer was extended to her. "However, Yasmin, I will not be making this easy on you. Testing my patience isn't wise as I'm sure you'll come to know."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz struggled to keep eye contact and was proud when she only slightly flinched away as the Master stood, circled about the large round table. No one moved, Yaz barely breathed as the Master approached, moving slowly but with clear intention. When she was but a breath away from Yaz, she stopped, looked at her. Yaz didn't know how much a difference a few centimetres could make but it seemed like the Master was looming over her head, domineering in her presence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then she was gone, moving back across the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Right, let's get to it," the Master said, perching back in her chair. "Bring forth the evidence or some such. Prove to me, Yasmin Khan, that you aren't guilty of the crimes of which you are accused."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were murmurs from behind her, whispers of dissent. Yaz had never interacted with Time Lords, she didn't know how they ran their courts but this seemed to be all wrong. The Master was changing the rules, though Yaz didn't expect anything less of someone so chaotic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't-" she began but the Master waved a hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Please Yasmin, spare any unnecessary whinging. Either prove to me that you are innocent or accept your guilt."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Yaz could speak up, one of the other Time Lords at the table slammed a palm down. The loud noise jostled the room, and all fell silent. Yaz looked at who had done the action, a woman with a stern frown on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is not the way things are done, Lord President," she said. "No matter what her crimes may be, Yasmin Khan is a citizen of Gallifrey and-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Spare me your lectures, General," the Master said. "This is my court, I make the decisions. You lot are here to advise and make sure I don't destroy everything." She gave a toothy smile, a slightly mad glint in her eyes. "And who's to say you could even do that? I will try Yasmin Khan as I see fit, and you would do well to remember that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Of course, ma'am," the General said and the room settled back into silence. It seemed that it was time for Yaz to speak. She thought frantically. She was always good at that, thinking on her toes, getting out of sticky situations. But there was something different about this, something that Yaz couldn't see.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not guilty," Yaz decided upon as an opening. Maybe if she continued to insist her innocence they would get bored and let her go free. She doubted it, however there was a little hope to cling to. "I had no idea what the Doctor was intending to do and I-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're saying you had no clue what the TARDIS repair shop was?" the Master interrupted. "You were aware of the Doctor's reputation or his penchant for getting others in trouble?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I was aware what the repair shop was, however-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You went there willingly," the Master interjected again, and she looked gleeful, as if Yaz's fate wasn't hanging in the balance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Let her speak, ma'am," the General said and the Master huffed quietly, slouching against her chair. When Yaz looked at the General, she couldn't make eye contact with the woman. It was probably for the better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I merely meant to say that the Doctor's intentions were not clear to me until he opened the door to the TARDIS," Yaz said. "I did not realize we would be stealing one, much less leaving the planet."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Isn't that what he promised you?" the  Master asked. "It's what he always promises, the stars for a friend. I've heard the speech many times, believe me, and it's not one that he tends to leave out." There was a pause, Yaz scrambling for an answer and coming up empty. "Did you or did you not willingly go with the Doctor?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, but-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Did you or did you not attempt to enter the TARDIS when he was stealing it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I was, but-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And did you or did you not have the intention of traveling with him, wherever that may have been?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I suppose so, however there's something-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Isn't that all we need?" the Master asked. "Honestly, I assumed you were going to put up a fight but this whinging on and on about intentions only muddies the water. The guards caught you in an unauthorized area with a renegade who's known for breaking the rules. You attempted to enter the TARDIS but he left before you could do so. I know you don't have any authorization from the High Council seeing as I am the final word on such matters." She tipped her head back, stared at the ceiling. Yaz could see the planes of her throat, exposed in the open air before she looked back down. "Am I missing anything?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't actually leave, did I?" Yaz asked, deciding to switch tact. They had her in a corner, but she was going to go down fighting as best she could. The Time Lords weren't worth just giving into. "I didn't make it off the planet, I didn't get the chance to even enter the TARDIS that the Doctor was stealing. You arrested me before I could even reach the doors. I didn't steal the TARDIS, I never even left the planet."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But you made the attempt," the Master said. "Did you or did you not have the intention of leaving the planet without permission?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Can you fault me for that?" Yaz asked. "No disrespect intended, but have any of you tried living in a place other than this? Gallifrey outside the Capitol is hell, even in Arcadia. There's crime everywhere, people are starving and you're up here doing nothing. There isn't a person there who doesn't want to leave Gallifrey, to travel among the stars, who looks up and sees the rest of the universe and wants to be there instead of here." She looked around at her audience, wondering briefly if her impassioned speech would do anything to sway them to her side. She couldn't tell, couldn't think beyond the anger and betrayal starting to swell in her chest. "I understand, you're angry at the Doctor for leaving. I am too! That's what he always does, isn't it? Runs away and doesn't look back-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How would you know what the Doctor is like?" The Master demands and there's something in her eyes that Yaz hasn't seen before. It sets her nerves on edge, the hairs at the back of her neck standing on edge. "All you humans do is tell rumors to each other, sharing stories that have the barest grain of truth. How could you hope to understand?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz had clearly struck a nerve, she could see it in the way the Master's jaw was set. There was a dangerous energy radiating from her and some of the other Time Lords exchanged uneasy glances. The air was tense. Yaz wasn't sure if she'd make it out of this mess alive, let alone a free woman. No one moved for a long moment before Yaz cleared her throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know the Doctor," she began with, hoping to soothe whatever fractured nerve she'd sparked. "I'm just saying that it's not unreasonable to want to leave."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That doesn't excuse you from what happened," the Master returned, and the tone of her voice indicated that whatever attempt she'd made at an apology had been pointless. Her voice was ice cold, each word ground out with great effort. "Or what you did. Or attempted to do. It doesn't matter that you weren't able to do it, what matters is that the intentions were there." She glanced at the other Time Lords around her. "Well, what are your opinions? Surely you have them."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a beat of silence, then the General spoke, resting her elbows on the table, chin propped against one of her palms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I believe that keeping Miss Khan around may be advantageous for us," she said. "For you." The Master quirked an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And what could have possibly led you to such a preposterous conclusion?" the Master asked, looking like the ever condescending parent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The Doctor wanted to travel with her, correct?" the General asked, clearly unperturbed by the tone, the way the Master was staring at her. "And you know how sentimental he tends to get, especially with humans or any of the other more primitive species." Yaz bristled slightly but held her tongue. Maybe this argument would be the one that would help her out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Get to your point, General, I'm getting bored again," the Master drawled. "And we all know what happens when I get bored." Yaz could only guess, but every image her mind conjured up was worse than the last and she turned away from that road of thought as quickly as she could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We use her to get the Doctor back here," the General said. "Bait, if you will. We keep her here, we keep her alive and the Doctor comes back. Then we can deal with the Doctor however you see fit."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's...an actually decent plan," the Master said. "I'm surprised I didn't come up with it. I'd even call you smart if it wasn't the first good idea you've had since I appointed you." She looked back at Yaz, eyeing her once more, raking her gaze up and down Yaz's form. "And it might actually work. The Doctor does have a ridiculously large heart and to hear that his newest plaything was being held by his greatest enemies...well, it just might get him back here."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not the Doctor's plaything," Yaz growled, tired of being talked about as if she wasn't in the room. The laugh that came from the Master was startling in its suddenness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh Miss Khan, that's where I fear you're greatly mistaken," the Master said. "You've not been anything more than a plaything since you were caught by our guards. Perhaps from the moment you decided that going away with the Doctor was the best idea you'd had."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't want to be bait," Yaz said. "I hate the Doctor, I never want to see him again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That seemed to shock the Master. She gave a choked chuckle and narrowed her eyes. Yaz lifted her chin, kept her gaze steady. She wasn't going to give in so easily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You are quite the enigma, Yasmin Khan," the Master said. "Perhaps we should make-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lord President, ma'am," One of the other Time Lords at the table interrupted her. "I do believe we've entertained your ridiculous notions long enough. The High Council will be taking time to make the decision as to what will be done with Yasmin Khan."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It must have been close to mutiny, what this Time Lord said, as the Master's face creased with a frown. However, she waved a hand, dismissing them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You have until sunset to reach your decision or what happens to Miss Khan will be decided by me and me alone."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You are not the dictator of Gallifrey-" the same Time Lord tried to speak again, but the Master cut through the words with ease.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I am the Lord President and you answer to me, not to yourselves. I give you until sunset." And then she got to her feet and was walking out of the room, strolling with a purpose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she moved around the table, she locked eyes with Yaz once more, fixing her with a stare that drilled into her very soul. Their shoulders brushed as she passed Yaz, and there was a gentle press at the back of her mind. Touch telepathy.</span>
</p>
<p><em><span>Clever</span></em><span>, a voice said.</span><em><span> Meet me in your chambers in twenty minutes.</span></em> <em><span>Do not be late.</span></em><span> And then the voice was gone along with the Master, moving past Yaz and out of the room completely. Yaz stared after her for a moment before looking back at the High Council, most of whom looked on edge. Then one got up and the others followed as they filed out of the room, heading for an exit on the other end of the table, away from where Yaz was. The other Time Lords dispersed soon after that, leaving Yaz to be led back to her room by the guards.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>She didn't see Ryan, even as they passed the kitchens once more. His helmet was on the table, however, and Yaz could only hope that he was talking to the older man from before. She certainly hoped that he hadn't gotten in trouble by defending her. The guards didn't talk, though they seemed a lot more relaxed than they had been before. Yaz herself was feeling a bit better, though her fate was as uncertain as it had been before. And now she once more had to confront the Master. Their previous encounter had left her reeling, and she wasn't quite ready to talk to her once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, they reached her room fairly quickly and Yaz entered to find the Master already perched on the bed, staring out the window. Yaz could almost describe her as calm, the way her shoulders seemed to slump slightly, her expression hidden from view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sure I'm the last person you want to see," the Master said, the words curling in her mouth as if they pained her. "However, I feel there are important matters to discuss. Matters that couldn't be witnessed by the members of my stupid species." She got off the bed then, turned back to Yaz. Her hands were tucked into her pockets and Yaz would almost call her normal. "Sit."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A single word, a nod in the direction of the bed, and Yaz followed orders almost immediately. She'd tested the patience of this woman enough for one day, though her feet itched to disobey. The edge of the bed was firm enough to perch on, and Yaz settled there watching as the Master started to slowly pace the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The High Council is going to do something rash," the Master said after a long moment of nothing but the sound of her footsteps echoing in the room. "I can sense it, they always feel the need to interject when they feel like I'm overstepping my bounds." She turned burning hazel eyes to Yaz, meeting her gaze firmly. "I know you hate me and I feel no fondness for you. However, I believe it in our best interests to strike a deal. Whatever they come up with for you, I can assure that you will be able to leave and return to your life however-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't want to make a deal with you," Yaz said coldly. "You put your hands against my throat, I'm not just gonna make a deal with you like that. It doesn't work like that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You-listen, the scope of this issue is far larger than whatever petty quarrel we have," the Master said. "I love petty quarrels, they're my love language, but this is not the time for it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't want your help."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You humans are so stubborn," the Master growled, stepping up into her space. Yaz’s knees brushed the tops of her thighs but neither noticed. "You're so confident that keeping your pride or whatever the hell you want to call it that you can't even tell when a decision will benefit you. I'm trying to help you, not trick you. Get that through your thick skull."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I might believe you if you could go a moment without insulting me," Yaz retorted. "Get out."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No," the Master said. "Not until we come to an agreement."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How's this for an agreement?" Yaz snapped. "I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you, but I'll stay here so the Doctor comes back and you can do to him as you please." Her chest was heaving and she was so, so tired. This day hadn't gone like she expected it, and she was exhausted, but the Master seemed hell-bent on continuing to pester her until she gave in. "Then I want to leave and I never want to be involved with the Time Lords ever again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's not, I don't think that-" The Master snapped her mouth closed after a moment, processing the request for a moment. Her jaw clenched, something raging in her eyes. Finally, she nodded. "Alright, you've got a deal-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lord President!" the door slammed open, one of the Time Lords from the High Council standing on the other end. She was doubled over, breathing heavily, and there was a look of panic in her eyes. "They've made the decision, you must come now."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That was quick," the Master muttered, but she beckoned for Yaz to follow her. They reached the chambers of the High Council quickly, moving through the Citadel with more speed than they had before. The Master overtook the other Time Lord easily and pushed through the doors. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Glad to see you lot have come to your senses," she said, and Yaz could hear the smirk in her voice as it echoed through the hall. "Inform me of your decision so our poor guest can sleep."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m your guest now?” Yaz muttered under her breath, sneering at the Master when she looked back with warning in her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You won't like this ma'am, but the Council has reached a unanimous decision. In order for this to properly work to get the Doctor to return to Gallifrey, what happens to Miss Khan must be drastic."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not sure what you mean by drastic, but I do hope it...doesn't involve torture," the Master quipped. "Spit it out you old fools, I haven't got all evening."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In order for the Doctor to even have a chance of being lured back here, it has been decided that you must marry Yasmin Khan.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz felt her heart stop. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>not sure when the next chapter will be up, though i am doing a series of cophine one-shots starting monday so most of my time will be dedicated to that. there will definitely be a chapter coming out the week after, or those are my plans at the very least. thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed.</p>
<p>please try your best to stay safe and sane,</p>
<p>~~jo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The fallout from the council's decision begins.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this chapter was a heavy struggle but we made it to the end. enjoy more of Yaz and the Master facing off against each other because I love them being enemies</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Surely you're kidding me? You can’t be serious about wanting me to marry Miss Khan." The Master drawled, of course recovering before Yaz could even get her heart to restart. "This is some stupid game you've all made up to get back at me for whatever action of mine you’ve deemed unsavory at the moment?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I assure you it's no joke," the General was the first one to speak. She stared straight at the Master, her hands clenched behind her back. She didn't break eye contact and eventually the Master turned to the others. Yaz saw her face start to pinch in an approximation of a snarl. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I am not marrying a human," she spat. "And certainly not for whatever stupid game you lot think you're playing. The Doctor will return solely because we have her, there is no need for a marriage-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Our decision is final," one of the other Time Lords said. Yaz was startled at how hard everyone's expressions were, none of them looking at her or the Master with any sympathy. The latter Yaz could understand, she felt nothing but loathing for the woman standing at her side, but she'd hoped...but Time Lords didn't care about humans, they'd made that abundantly clear to all of them. Yaz wasn't an exception to the rule, even if she was about to get married to the Lord President. Perhaps it meant that she proved the rule. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It sure as hell isn't," the Master argued. "I am the Lord President, my decision is the one that is final, not yours-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You gave the decision to us to make. You told us to make it for you, this is the decision we made. You've certainly gone long enough without a consort of any kind and those in Acardia and beyond are starting to feel a little agitated,” The General said. “And, ma’am, you said it yourself. Once the Doctor learns that his former cohort is in danger, he'll come running back and we can take him into custody once and for all. This is the only solution to both problems."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz watched the realization dawn across the Master's face, the expression making her face go slack for a brief moment before she glared at them with righteous anger, eyes blazing as she stepped forward, jabbing a rigid finger into the chest of the General. Her words were almost too quiet to hear, and the silence before she spoke was deafening. "You used me," she hissed. "You had no intentions of finding a suitable punishment for Yasmin Khan, you wanted to further your own agenda, with no care for what would happen along the way." And it didn't sound much like an accusation, but annoyed resignation. "I can't believe I fell for it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Perhaps you are not as clever as you suspect, Master," someone sneered. "Of course we're furthering our own agenda, it's what you do all the time. After all, Miss Khan wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for your insistence that she be tried in our court rather than hers in Arcadia.” And the Master growled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Or perhaps you lot are a bit too idiotic to think through your plans," she retorted. Her gaze was fixed where the voice had come from, though Yaz couldn't see whoever had spoken. "What's going to happen when we finally get the Doctor here, hm, when he magically shows up to rescue his companion? Will Miss Khan and I be forced to continue on with whatever farce of a marriage you would have us engage in or will you lock her up? Kill her? Expel her from Gallifrey?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That will be up to you to decide," the General said, cutting across the murmurs with a firm voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll get a say in this?" the Master asked. "Bloody surprising." Then she moved across the room, heading for the door and those in the room started to clamor. A voice rose above the others, even while Yaz was rooted to the spot, unable to even turn and watch the Master walk away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You aren't going to wait to hear what proceedings will occur? When they will happen?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Have someone fill me in," The Master said, pausing by the exit. "It's not worth my time at the moment." She shoved the doors open and walked out of the room without another word, the doors clanging shut behind her. Yaz stared at her, almost dumbfounded before a hand fell on her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sure this is not what you were expecting," The General said. "However, it is what is for the best, even if the Master doesn't agree with what we're doing."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz nodded numbly, the words washing over her. It was getting harder to struggle with this new reality, that she and the Master...she couldn't even think about it, and as the General began to explain what would be happening, Yaz let the words flow in one ear and out the other. She focused on her heart beat, singular compared to the others in the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marrying the Master....no, it was more than that, the Master was also the Lord President of Gallifrey, it felt like a betrayal of everything that had happened in Arcadia. And what could happen in the extended company of one like the Master? How much would she hurt Yaz, how much would she exploit her, use her until she could be tossed away? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The questions swirled uncontrollably and Yaz was having a hard time slowing them. The others in the room weren't making it easier, all of them talking, to her, about her, around her, it didn't matter. But these people did not have the best of intentions, certainly not when it came to her and after a few more seconds of listening to them prattle on, she shoved her way out of the crowd and moved for the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Time Lords must not have been expecting the move, as she was able to get out the doors and well into the hallway before any orders were shouted for the guards to follow her. They moved slowly, and Yaz had a head start along with years of running through the streets of Arcadia as a kid. She was well out of sight by the time they'd begun to mobilize but she didn't stop. She didn't know where she was going, she didn't know when she was going to stop. The only thing she knew was that she needed to get away from the Time Lords, no matter the cost.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz wove through the hallways of the Citadel, twisting and turning at every available moment until she'd turned herself about and lost where she was. It wasn't as if she knew the Citadel well, she'd not grown up there but getting away had been important at the time. Now she was starting to reconsider.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Surprised you made it this far," the Master's voice echoed down the long corridor that she'd turned down. Yaz glanced over, saw her leaned against the wall. Her arms were crossed over her chest. "Shouldn't you be in there with them?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And listen to them talk over me for the rest of the evening?" Yaz snapped back. "Not as exciting as it sounds."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You've got quite the mouth on you," The Master grumbled and suddenly she was walking closer, the gap between the two of them closing quickly. "You do know that's only going to hurt you from here on, right?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Better than just bein' quiet while you lot decide my fate," Yaz said, annoyance tinting her tone. She didn't care anymore and she really wanted to find her room, go to bed, act like none of this had ever happened. Instead, she was forced to stand here in front of her soon-to-be wife (the thought made her shudder, and if the expression on the Master's face was anything to go on, she wasn't too pleased about the arrangement either) and she was far from a bed. "They kept talkin' over me and I got tired of listening to them decide my fate without my input. So I came here. Got a problem with that?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Considering this is my wing of the Citadel?" the Master asked, drawing up so she stood taller than her. "I mind it quite a lot but that isn’t important. We have unfinished business."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're going to keep trying to ruin my life?" Yaz asked. "Didn't your council already do that?" She could see the Master bristle at the accusation, eyes narrowing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you going to keep being difficult?" the Master growled. "Is this how it's going to go for the next little while? Are you going to push and push until I have no choice but to completely eliminate you." Somehow, she managed to loom over Yaz, eyes sharp and dangerous. For a second, Yaz could see the hint of danger everyone so often said was lurking within the Master, the madness. Her heart seized for a moment before the Time Lord pulled away, drawing a hand down her face. "I was going to say that we'd never officially struck our deal."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Seems a bit stupid now," Yaz said. "I think it's fairly clear that I'm never going to be allowed to leave this place."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Believe me, Miss Khan, I will be working my hardest to get you out of here," the Master said. "I don't want you here anymore than you want to be here. I think it is still in our best interest to work together rather than against one another."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why would you want to help me?" Yaz asked. "You're the Master, why don't you kill me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It may surprise you to know, Yasmin, but my life is not as simple as the rest may make it seem. My hands are tied in this decision. I let the others decide what to do with you and, unfortunately, I cannot take it back. If I do, I might lose power and that’s the last thing I want. So I have to play along for the time being." She sneered faintly. "I would go to great lengths to assure that I would never have to be married to the likes of you, trust in that, Miss Khan."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz felt herself bristling at the implication, body trembling with undisguised rage. "What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded. "Is it because I'm not a Time Lord? I'm lesser than you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Put simply?" The Master drawled. "Yes. And you're quite boring with all your outrage and your want for justice. I will admit, the anger at the Doctor is refreshing but not worth everything else."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're no better than I am," Yaz said. "And you're definitely no better than the Doctor. I just can't tell which of you is worse." That seemed to take the Master aback for a few seconds and she searched Yaz's face for a moment before chuckling softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If only you understood everything that's going on," the Master said, shaking her head. "Though I suppose it would be a bit much to ask you to constantly pay attention to the politics up here. It gets a bit overwhelming even for the best of us and we aren't so...fragile minded." She reached across the gap, stroked a finger down Yaz's cheek and she couldn't help the goosebumps that broke out along her skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She moved to pull her head away, to regain something of herself but the Master held firm to her chin, keeping her head in place while they stared at each other. Yaz didn't let herself flinch when the Master leaned forward, eyes still locked on Yaz's until she finally pulled away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I suppose you'll be wanting to get to sleep?" the Master asked as if nothing had happened. "You humans, always so fickle about when you sleep and how much and where. And I'm sure tomorrow will be full of talks of logistics and plans and all the other traditions. Your family will be notified, though I doubt they'll be allowed to come. Time Lord weddings are usually very exclusive to anyone outside the species."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wouldn't expect anything less from you," Yaz muttered, but the Master didn't show any sign of hearing, already starting to urge Yaz back the way she'd come. "Will I be allowed to attend my own wedding?" She asked cynically, and the Master's hand gripped her shoulder tightly, almost enough to bruise. It was beginning to become a theme with her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Miss Khan," she said, her voice hushed. "As I said earlier, it will be in your best interest...in both of our best interests if you were to at least pretend to be cordial towards me. You do not understand the scope of what we're dealing with and I want to get out of this without any fears that you'll be tied to me like some sort of dog until your inevitable death."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"'m not a dog!" Yaz retorted, something inside her finally snapping. She shoved the Master's hand away from her shoulder and gripped her wrist tightly, glaring at her with as much fury as she could muster. "And I'm tired of being treated like one. You can't just throw me around and decide my own fate for me! I don't care what stupid rules of yours I've broken, all I wanted was to get off this hellscape of a planet and see the universe." She took a threatening step towards the Master, and, to her internal surprise, the Time Lord gave her the ground. Yaz took it as a cue to keep going, up until the Master finally stopped moving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I can do as I wish," She said firmly. "I'm the Lord President, and I'd love to see you try and stop me from getting exactly what I want."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not your pawn," Yaz spat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You are exactly that, Miss Khan," the Master said, pulling her wrist free from Yaz's grip. "And I advise that until we've sorted whatever this is," she motioned between the two of them, the movement vague and lacking any meaning that Yaz could grasp, "you'd do well to stay out of my way."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What happened to working together?" Yaz asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You've made it very clear that you have no wish to cooperate and I'm not going to force you. Believe it or not, I'm not the fairy tale villain you appear to be trying to make me." She sneered. "I was going to escort you back to your room, but I'm sure you can find your own way back."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then she was walking away and Yaz was left alone in the hall, the only sound being the Master's receding footsteps and her own racing heart. She was well and truly lost, it would be impossible to find her way back to her room. Doubt started to creep in the longer she stood there, staring after the Master, who had already turned a corner and disappeared from sight, and she realized that perhaps taking her anger out on the nearest person hadn't been the greatest idea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No," she murmured to herself, steeling her resolve. "She's the one that got you into this mess in the first place, if she'd done something to stop them, to tell them no, we wouldn't be here." Yaz nodded to herself. It almost made sense. "It's her fault." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that, Yaz turned on her heel and decided to find her own way back to her room. Within moments of the decision she was already regretting it but she forged on, weaving through the corridors, hoping to spot something that was familiar from her run there but nothing struck a chord in her. Strangely, there were no guards patrolling the area, nothing to indicate that anyone resided there, let alone the Lord President of Gallifrey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, she kept going, further and further. As she went, the light grew dimmer until it was barely more than a candle's worth of light flickering through the hallways. Things hadn't quite gone to plan, but she was determined to keep going. There had to be an end to all of it, a path that would lead to anywhere else in the Citadel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, she picked up the sound of footsteps behind her. They were quick but even, coming from behind her and once more, Yaz started running, hand out to brush the wall so she would know when it turned. The chase was over fairly quickly as her pursuer caught up with surprising ease and their hands wrapped around Yaz's shoulders and neck, tilting her head to the side. There was a little pinprick of pain in her neck and her eyelids grew heavier with each passing beat of her heart until her limbs went limp and she slipped out of consciousness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was the savory smell of food that brought her back round to the waking world. There was breakfast in her room, Ryan standing over her with a tray, smiling with kindness in his eyes. Her head pounded, her limbs ached and there was a thick feeling in her mouth that made swallowing difficult.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Good to see you awake," Ryan said, setting the tray on the bed as Yaz sat up, glancing about her in brief confusion. "You're still in the Citadel, though I heard you had quite the adventure last night."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm getting married to the worst Time Lord in the universe," Yaz groaned, flopping back against the, admittedly very comfy, pillows. "And I don't even have a choice in it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Could be worse,” Ryan said. "Y'could be dead somewhere or be forced to fight to death in the Time Lord's arena."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"They don't have that," Yaz mumbled, blinking slowly in the attempt to stay awake for a bit longer. At Ryan’s silence, she looked up. “They don’t, do they?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can neither confirm nor deny,” Ryan said, dodging the pillow that she tossed in his direction. “Are you going to eat your breakfast?” He asked, setting the tray closer to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What time is it? The Lord President said I should be there for the proceedings. Something about knowing the plan." She glanced around, looking for a clock but coming up with nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She told me not to let you out of this room until you'd eaten and gotten some of your strength back," Ryan said firmly. At Yaz's confused look, he added "Those were her express orders."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why would she give express orders like that?" Yaz muttered, but tucked into her breakfast. What the Master did or didn't do in regards to ordering about her guards wasn't much to her concern at the moment. She was more worried about what she was missing, what decisions she wouldn't have a hand in. She'd not much dreamed about this day, but she'd be damned if her hand was going to be entirely removed from her own wedding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once Ryan had deemed her fit, Yaz got up, got cleaned and got dressed before heading to face the council once more. It was time to see what the Master (and the other Time Lords) had in store for her.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>an announcement: i'm taking a break from fic during july to work on an original set of short stories I've been planning for a little while. I may post but it will be very sporadic so I'm not going to guarantee anything. So if you don't hear from me for a month, at least on here, that's where I've gone.</p>
<p>tumblr: <a href="https://joanwolfe.tumblr.com/">@joanwolfe</a> </p>
<p>stay safe and stay sane friends,</p>
<p>~~jo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The rehearsal and the wedding</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>after not touching this story since the end of June, i sat down and wrote this chapter in a little under three days of solid work. i'm very happy with how this chapter turned out and i hope all of you enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The time up until the wedding passed in excruciating, long days. Yaz got as involved as she could (it's her wedding after all, she deserved something of a say in some of the details) but the Master seemed to come to resent her presence the more she tried to assert her opinion. They didn't speak to each other until two nights before, and even then it was only the Master telling her that the dress was ready and what time she needed to be ready for the rehearsal the next day. </p><p>Yaz found a few sources of comfort, one being Ryan. He'd been reinstated as her guard after she refused to work with anyone else and he'd quickly become the closest thing she had to a friend in the Citadel. She'd even gone over to his grandparent's household for dinner one night, having snuck out of the Citadel one evening when wedding preparations had worn her to the bone with exhaustion. He’d assisted, of course, he always assisted, and it was good to see someone other than the guards of the Time Lords. </p><p>Then came the night of the rehearsal. All day she'd spent getting ready, pacing, worrying...mostly about the Master. How she seemed to completely disregard the few pleasant actions that she'd carried out when Yaz had first arrived. After that first day (and breakfast the following morning) all she'd gotten from her soon-to-be-wife was cold looks and disapproving glares. It didn't bode well for their sham of a marriage. </p><p>But Yaz was determined to see this through as thoroughly as she needed to, willing to go through the vows and also perfectly willing to leave the Master at the altar should the Doctor make a grandiose appearance. Let him deal with his own people and the trouble he'd gotten her into with them. </p><p>If there was one thing the Master had done well, it was advertise the wedding to the rest of Gallifrey. The Lord President getting married was cause for celebration, no matter the Lord President, no matter the poor soul roped into marrying them and Gallifrey needed to know that their fate would soon rest in hands that might not be the Master's genocidal ones. Yaz was certain that the news had moved past the bounds of the planet.</p><p>Everything, the preparation, the utter hatred that seemed to be blooming between the brides, culminated in the high tower bedroom that Yaz had been staying in. She sat in front of the mirror (with others gathered about her), fussing over her hair and how it looked when the door snapped open with a thundering clang. Yaz didn't even have to look up to know who it was that had entered.</p><p>"Everyone except Miss Khan out," the Master growled. No one moved, all of them seemingly frozen to the spot. "I said get out!" The raised tone did the trick and the room was empty in seconds, leaving only the Master and Yaz. She still didn't look up, not even when the doors were closed and locked, and certainly not when footsteps started to come towards her. "Yasmin, look at me."</p><p>"Lord President," Yaz said, finally looking up at her with as bored of an expression as she could muster. "I'm in the middle of something, if you couldn't tell." </p><p>"Of course I can tell, Yasmin, I'm not a complete idiot," the Master said, adding under her breath a muttered "unlike you" that had Yaz gripping the edge of her chair until her knuckles started to ache. "I wouldn't have interrupted you if it wasn't important to the both of us."</p><p>"Then what is it?" Yaz asked, unable to keep from snapping for a moment longer. "What's so important that you couldn't tell me in front of everyone else?"</p><p>"I've heard rumors that the Doctor is planning on interrupting the wedding," the Master said. "Or the ceremony at the very least. Now it's entirely possible he'll be late, but I want to cover a plan of escape should he choose to make an absolute fool of himself."</p><p>"Are you sure he’s actually going to come or is it just rumors?" Yaz asked. "Because if it's only the rumors, I want you to leave."</p><p>"You can't order me to leave a room in what is essentially my palace," the Master said with a huff of indignance. "Regardless of what is going to be happening tomorrow Miss Khan, you are nothing more than a prisoner here."</p><p>"Not when I'm your wife I'm not," Yaz replied. "That was something the Council and I discussed on the day you refused to appear for the meeting because you were too tired to deal with us." She smirked. "Luckily, your presence wasn't necessary." There was a small bit of satisfaction that seeped into her bones at the way the Master's face fell for a fraction of a second before she regained her composure and stalked the rest of the way across the room.</p><p>"We'll be discussing escape plans or I'll go to the Council myself and tell them that you've been organizing a coup to take their positions. They're already not in a position to trust you..."</p><p>"You're stooping to blackmail?" Yaz asked. "Why am I not surprised?" The Master held her gaze for longer than a few seconds until finally Yaz relented. "Alright, alright. Let's make these stupid escape plans so I can go back to getting ready."</p><p>"Likewise," the Master said, and it was only then that Yaz noticed that she was already halfway dressed for the rehearsal.</p><p> The Master had forgone any kind of traditional Time Lord garb, declaring it too old fashioned and much too uncomfortable, and instead had swapped it out for a maroon button down with gold buttons and black trousers that, though Yaz was loath to admit it even to herself, perfectly accentuated the way the Master's hip was always cocked to the side in a pose of defiance. Her hair was pulled back, but unkempt and kept falling in front of her eyes. She brushed it away as she slipped a paper onto the table in front of Yaz, sweeping it clear of makeup and hair products first. Yaz didn't object.</p><p>"I assume the Doctor is going to do something while we're in the middle of the ceremony. He's one for dramatics, after all," she started to point at the map, leaning close to Yaz, close enough that Yaz shied away. Being in close proximity to the Master never meant anything good for anyone and she was reluctant to stay there for any extended period of time. "And, if I know him, which I do, he'll make as big an entrance as he can. He'll probably enter through the front of the chamber of the High Council and try to approach  where we'll be standing. If that is the case, you immediately play victim."</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"We want him to get close enough for the guards to close in," the Master said with a shrug. "He thinks you're on his side so he'll be more trusting of you."</p><p>"You're going to ambush him," Yaz said, though she didn't find any sympathy in her. She frowned slightly, pushing the Master's hand away from where it was pointing at the little box indicating the throne. "And if he enters anywhere else?"</p><p>"There are a few back up plans but everything is essentially the same. You go to him, try and trick him into thinking that you're here against your will and we'll capture him." She let the paper fall to the floor. "Then you're off the hook for good. You get to go home, we have the Doctor and hopefully never see each other again." </p><p>Yaz stared at the woman-the Time Lord before her and wondered why she'd ever let it slip into her mind that the Master might have some sort of care for her. She clearly only cared about getting revenge on the Doctor for whatever her reason was and Yaz's wellbeing came last to nearly everything. Telling a guard to bring her breakfast hadn't changed anything, the last few days had certainly shown that and, quite suddenly, Yaz found herself aching for home stronger than she ever had before. </p><p>"And if he doesn't show up at all?" Yaz asked. "If you're completely wrong about how you know him and we've done all this for nothing?"</p><p>"He'll come, Miss Khan," the Master said firmly. "We have you, after all, and he always has such an affinity for those he travels with. It would be quite unlike him to leave one of you behind, especially in the care of his own people."</p><p>"You're a monster," Yaz said, mustering as much hatred as she could pour into a single glare. "All of you, the Doctor, your Council. And most of all you."</p><p>"I'm glad you think so," The Master said. "I've never tried to hide the fact from you, Miss Khan. It's always you and those like you that insist on giving us the same morals that you attempt to adhere to. It's rather boring if I'm honest." She regarded Yaz with little more than a raised eyebrow. "Though I must admit, it's been quite a lot of fun listening to you prattle on about right and wrong."</p><p>"Why can't you leave me alone?"</p><p>"Because, Miss Khan, whether or not you like it, we are linked via a singular hatred for the Doctor. You never want to see him again and I long for nothing more than to make him pay for the pain that he's caused me. Our goals are close enough that teaming up is the most efficient." She circled around Yaz, stopping behind her and Yaz turned on the stool to keep an eye on her. "And besides...I've not had this much fun in ages."</p><p>"Fun?" Yaz asked. "This is fun for you?"</p><p>"Of course," the Master said. "Making humans uncomfortable is one of the only things that brings me joy in life, almost more joy than killing them." She traced a finger down Yaz's jaw feather light. Yaz shivered violently and the Master chuckled. "It's always more fun than trying the same with Time Lords. you know just how boring they can be." The Master leaned back then, watching her carefully. Yaz had the distinct feeling of prey that was aware of the hunter's every move and could do nothing to stop it.</p><p>"I don't want any part of your mind games," Yaz said. "I don't want anything to do with you."</p><p>"You should have thought about that before you attempted to leave Gallifrey then," the Master said breezily. "Did you truly think that if you were caught you would be let off easily?" She laughed then, properly laughed and it was maniacal and blood curdling and Yaz shivered like ice had slipped down the back of her clothes. "If it had truly been up to me, you might not even be alive right now. I might have sent you to the front lines of whatever war we'll engage in next and have you watch as your sister is slaughtered. I could have tortured you for eternity-"</p><p>"Why are you telling me this?" Yaz asked, tears starting to creep up at the edges of her vision. She got up from the stool, tried squaring herself up to the Master but she was backed against the table, the Master's arms planted on either side of her, their faces only inches apart. "What could you possibly gain?"</p><p>"Oh Miss Khan," The Master practically purred the words, and the way she slipped from psychotic to nearing seductive had Yaz's head spinning. "You've so much to learn from the Time Lords. I could teach you, even." A predatory smile.</p><p>"I'd never want to learn from you," Yaz spat, the last of her courage going with the words as she immediately sank back against the table as the Master leaned just a bit further forward.</p><p>"In this world, Yasmin, it might be the best idea to take help where you can get it," the Master said. "All I ask is one simple thing in return."</p><p>"My undying commitment to your revenge scheme against the Doctor?" Yaz asked, and she hated how her voice trembled.</p><p>"Not even that," the Master said. "I don't need your help, not in the grand scheme of things." She leaned closer, until her lips were just about touching Yaz's ear and she shivered again, hating the proximity. "Say my name."</p><p>"What?" Yaz asked, regaining enough of herself to pull away from the Master, a jerky movement that nearly knocked the two of them off balance. The Master didn't seem too phased by it, only shaking her head.</p><p>"Say my name and I'll help you," the Master said. Yaz searched her brain, thinking back to every moment that she'd known the Master and she couldn't recall a single instance where she'd said her name. "It's simple, really. No catches, I promise."</p><p>"I say your name and you help me?" Yaz asked, voice wavering slightly. </p><p>"Yes."</p><p>Yaz swallowed thickly, suddenly finding it nigh on impossible to say anything. Finally, she summoned up the one word that was required of her. "Master."</p><p>"Again," the Master said, and she seemed to be revelling in it.</p><p>"Master."</p><p>"Good," the Master said, and she withdrew from Yaz's personal space, suddenly uncaring once more, waving a hand through the air as she moved towards the door. "Be ready in twenty minutes. I have other things to attend to this evening and I can't have this rehearsal ordeal taking the bulk of my time.</p><p>Yaz watched her leave, several feelings swirling in her stomach, but she mustered a smile for the hairdressers and make up artists and let them fawn over her and the products that had fallen on the floor. She was grateful that they didn't question what had happened but only set back to work, moving faster than before.</p><p> </p><p>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~</p><p> </p><p>The rehearsal didn't go horribly, but the Master was so anxious to get leaving that she barely stayed for anything past the explanation of the ceremony. After the two of them entered the Council chamber, where the table had been cleared out to make room for the Time Lords that would bear witness to the smaller, official ceremony, they would meet in the middle by the throne, where they would sign their names across what was essential a contract, exchange small, golden bracelets, share a brief kiss and then give individual speeches. Yaz secretly hoped that the Doctor would appear before the speech giving, as she hadn't really gotten anything prepared. What was she supposed to say about the woman she loathed nearly as much as the man they were both trying to lure into a trap?</p><p>The Master had spent the entire explanation fidgeting and urging the General along, hands shoved into the pockets of her trousers, hair continuing to fall from where it had been tied back until it was pointless to have it tied back any longer. They ran through the motions, walking in, signing, exchanging the bracelets before the Master slipped out a side door, leaving Yaz to learn the rest of what was to happen. She was secretly glad they didn't have to rehearse the kiss.</p><p>"We'll broadcast a separate ceremony to the rest of the planet," the General said as they walked about the council chambers. "In case something goes wrong here. It'll be a few weeks from now, so you needn't worry about it actually happening. I hope to have the Doctor in our custody and you having miraculously disappeared in the process." She spared a wink for Yaz, and it made her feel a bit better but couldn't lift the pressure in her chest. "If everything goes well, you won't even get to the signing before he bursts into the room. We've made sure that it's been well-broadcast that the Master is marrying someone from Arcadia. We're counting on his ability to put the puzzle pieces together."</p><p>"Do you mind if I get to sleep early?" Yaz asked, halting a few paces behind the General. She turned around and raised an eyebrow but nodded. "There's nothing else pressing that I would need to tell the Lord President, is there?"</p><p> </p><p>"No, not as such," the General said. "I was going to try and explain a few of the finer points of the ceremony but I'm sure you'll figure it out as you go along. And it's not as if we're going about this traditionally in any way at all, so a few deviations would startle anyone." She gave a smile, and for a brief moment Yaz wondered if she would be her only ally in the Time Lords before she chased the thought away. "Rest up, Miss Khan, it's going to be an even longer day tomorrow."</p><p>Yaz dreaded it, but she gave a thankful nod and left the council chambers, tugging on Ryan's arm as she passed. He followed behind her, pointing out when she missed turns and filling the silence with words.</p><p>"-and I know she's the Lord President but she's also terrifying. I can't believe you're getting married to her, though I don't suppose you have much of a choice," he sighed quietly and patted her shoulder.</p><p>"I really don't have a choice at all," Yaz said. "Marry the Master or rot away in a dungeon for the rest of my life. At least this way I have a chance at mitigating some of the damage she might do."</p><p>"Damage?"</p><p>"She's not exactly got the interests of Gallifrey at heart, Ryan," Yaz said, pushing open the door to her room. She looked around and sighed in relief when she found it empty. That, at least, was a blessing. "She's out for herself, not that I can blame her. Time Lords don't seem to have any capacity for care byond themselves."</p><p>"A shame, really," Ryan said. "Think of what they could do if they had just a little bit of compassion. Maybe there wouldn't be so much fighting or problems." He shook his head. "Have a good evening, Yaz. Don't do anything stupid tomorrow."</p><p>"What makes you think I would do anything of the sort?" Yaz asked, tone infused with teasing. Her friendship with Ryan may have been the only thing that kept her from going completely mad.</p><p>"I may have only known you for a week, Yasmin Khan, but I have no doubt that you're planning some way of disrupting the ceremony tomorrow if the Doctor doesn't," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "I'll be right out here if you need anything. Sleep well."</p><p>"Yeah," she said, "you too." And then the doors were closed and she sighed quietly. She looked around the room and settled on the bed, staring out the window. Ryan was correct to be suspicious, it would be like her to come up with some devious plan to stop this entire wedding from happening, but she didn't have one. She hadn't been able to think of anything, and even if she had, she'd finally made something like peace with the Master. They, at the very least, would be able to go through the ceremony without biting each other's heads off for one reason or another, and that was good enough for Yaz. </p><p>So instead of staying up late, plotting as night turned to day, she changed into some new clothes and laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling as the seconds ticked by. She could have looked at a clock, but she knew it was already early morning. She could feel it in the exhausting pressure behind her eyes and, eventually, she slipped into a light doze plagued with ways the ceremony could go wrong (or, the most chilling possibility, right) and when she woke a several hours later she was soaked in sweat and her heart was racing. Her room was bright, filled with sunlight filtering through the windows and a glance at the small clock on the wall indicated that it was just past noon. She'd slept far past when she was supposed to and she hoped that she hadn't thrown everything off with that simple action.</p><p>"Good morning, Miss." One of the hairdressers was already in her room, setting up the tools the</p><p>y would need. "I was going to be here earlier but the guard at the door insisted that I wait."</p><p>"Sorry," Yaz mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Things were going to get a lot worse as the day went on, she could feel it, but before she could make any declaration of such, she was being pulled from her bed. </p><p>"You've got to get your clothes on before I can do your hair," the hairdresser said. "I'll call in the tailor, I'm sure there's some last minute adjustments that need to be made.</p><p>So Yasmin stood as they changed the dress in such minor ways that she wanted to just throw them out of her room. Instead, she bore it, like she bore the vast array of pins and ties as her hair was being arranged, and like she bore the annoyingly featherlight touch of the makeup brush. They moved quickly, thankfully, and with precision that Yaz knew wouldn't be found anywhere else but the Citadel. It was nearing two in the afternoon when they finished with her, and Yaz fidgeted nervously. The ceremony began in under an hour but Yaz was holding out hope that the Doctor would appear so they could end it all immediately, before the ceremony even started.</p><p>The minutes ticked by, turning from one to ten to twenty and then Ryan was knocking on the door and offering a hand to lead her around to where she needed to be. She took his hand, tried to ignore how sweaty her palm felt in his. He didn't say much on the way down, only offered words of encouragement and remarking how well she cleaned up.</p><p>"Have you heard word if the Doctor's come?" she asked as they positioned themselves by the door that had been marked for Yaz earlier that evening. Ryan shook his head.</p><p>"I don't know if he's coming," Ryan said. "I haven't heard anything out of anyone about when he's going to show up. If he's going to show up."</p><p>"The Master said he would," Yaz said. "That's not enough for me, but she seems to know him better than anyone else. She at least claims to."</p><p>"I think you'd better prepare for the full ceremony, Yaz," Ryan said. "Best advice I can give you." A clock chimed three times in the distance and Ryan squared his shoulders. "Good luck." He opened the door with a flourish, holding it as Yaz walked into the chambers, chin held high, eyes fixed on anything but the Master. The room was silent and Yaz could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears as she focused on putting one foot in front of the other until she reached the stand where the Master was standing. She must have walked faster, and she looked completely bored.</p><p>Her outfit from the previous night had remained much the same, with only a black jacket buttoned in front of her maroon shirt. There beat where she and the Master only stared at each other, waiting for the Doctor to burst through the front doors but as the seconds stretched on and it was clear that the Doctor wasn't coming at the moment, the Master cleared her throat and indicated the intricate pen resting next to the paper propped on an ornate stand.</p><p>Yaz picked it up, hand shaking, and scrawled her signature across one of the lines. She handed the pen to the Master. The Time Lord tapped it against the wood four times and then wrote her own name beside Yaz's. The only sound was their breathing and Yaz was close enough to the Master for a brief moment to hear the slight double pulse of her hearts. The Master then tugged a bracelet from her pocket and Yaz held out her wrist, trying not to flinch when the Master's fingers grazed her hand for a brief moment. There was a gentle click as the Master closed the clasp and she gave Yaz the other bracelet, looking bored as she mimicked the action.</p><p>Someone in the back of the room started clapping and soon, the rest of the room took it up as the Master stared at her, waiting. Yaz's eyes darted to the door. No Doctor. It looked like no matter when she needed him, he was never going to show up. </p><p>"What a disappointment," The Master murmured. "Looks like we'll have to tolerate each other for a bit longer." It was nearly drowned out in the din of applause but Yaz heard it and, with more than a bit of hesitance, she closed her eyes, leaned up and pressed her lips to the Master's in a chaste kiss. Her lips were slightly chapped and Yaz knew that she probably had her eyes open, but her hand came to grip Yaz's tightly. It was quick, over in a few seconds, but Yaz knew that it would change everything and as she looked at the Master, who had an eyebrow cocked, she knew the Time Lord felt the same. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>as always, here's my tumblr (<a href="https://joanwolfe.tumblr.com/">@joanwolfe</a>). tag for this story is "whittaker!master arranged marriage" if you wanna check it out.</p><p>until next time</p><p>~~ jo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>An afterparty and an arrangement made.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Yaz had never thought that the Time Lords could throw parties. Everything that she knew about them would lend itself to them being fairly stoic, even in the face of celebration. Standing at the edge of her wedding reception, however, seemed to prove her wrong. There were a good amount of Time Lords standing about, some dancing in the center of the room (she didn't even know that Time Lords knew how to dance) and many were standing about in rings, talking, laughing. She could see the Master moving from group to group, hands shoved into her back pockets with a firm set grimace as she spoke with the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes kept flitting back over to Yaz, perhaps an invitation, though the look in her eyes wasn't quite welcoming. Rather than mingle with her new wife (the thought made something in her insides recoil and she swallowed back the feeling) Yaz stayed to the fringes of the hall, standing by Ryan as he kept guard. He was the only familiar face in the crowd other than the Master, and that was the last person Yaz wanted to spend some time with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Congrats on the wedding," Ryan said, his voice almost incomprehensible over the din of the party, but Yaz sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Don't," she said, shaking her head. "This was never a part of the plan."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There was a plan?" Ryan asked, chuckling. "Coulda had me fooled. Can you share it since everything's clearly turned out so horribly?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't want to be killed by my new wife," Yaz retorted, pushing his shoulder. "All you need to know is that it failed and now I'm stuck here until we can think of something else."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryan nodded and turned his attention back out to the crowd, leaving Yaz to sit and stew in her thoughts. If it hadn't been good before, it hadn't gotten any better. She watched the Master linger in the group with the General, a smile on her face, a dangerous glint in her eyes. It sent shivers up Yaz's spine, even when she wasn't on the receiving end of it, and, after a few moments, she looked away with a grimace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was hard to find words to describe how the past few hours had affected her. Everything had moved quickly, when it finally came down to the ceremony and moving from the council chambers to the reception room. Yaz had gone from one place to another, either with the Master, Ryan, or both by her side. A moment alone hadn’t been afforded to her since that morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master had barely offered another word to her besides the comment right before they kissed. Even during dinner, even when Yaz had excused herself to change out of the bulky dress, the Master had barely acknowledged her with more than a slight nod of the head. And that moment...Yaz replayed it over and over in her head, trying to commit the words to memory. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If the Master was willing to tolerate her for a bit longer, that meant she had more time, more than she thought she'd had. That was more time to find the Doctor, more time to help the Master get whatever twisted revenge she wanted and then go back to her life, go back to the way things were before and pretend none of this ever happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yasmin." A cool voice in her ear made her jump and she leaped away from the Master with a startled yelp. The Master grabbed her arm tightly, blunt nails digging into the fabric of the shirt Yaz had changed into. "Now, now dear, we aren't causing a scene at our own wedding, are we? That wouldn’t be very good."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you want?" Yaz hissed, heart fluttering in her chest like a caged bird. "I thought you were ignoring me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Everyone's starting to wonder where the other bride has gone," the Master said smoothly, sweeping into Yaz's space without regard for how Yaz flinched away. In fact, she seemed to revel in Yaz's discomfort. "I told them you were taking a slight break, but they're expecting us back any moment. I didn’t think you’d be hiding in the corner, but I should have known better. Sinclair."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ma'am," Ryan said, and then she was leading Yaz away, into the crowd of Time Lords. Yaz spared a glance back at Ryan as she was pulled away but he disappeared in a few moments, leaving Yaz alone in the sea of unfamiliar and stoic faces. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master seemed to be having the time of her life, beaming brightly and waving at anyone they passed, nodding to Yaz to force attention to her. Finally, they stopped at a small ring of Time Lords, dressed more haphazardly than the others. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz could see the General there, the cleanest dressed of the group by far, but none of the others were familiar. Yaz doubted they'd even been there for the ceremony, but she couldn't say one way or the other. She'd made a point of not looking at the faces that had watched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who are these people?" Yaz whispered to the Master but she didn't get a reply before the Master was introducing her to the group.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sure you've all heard the news, but the Council finally managed to tie me down," she said, curling a hand around Yaz’s waist. Yaz glared at her, shifting to slip out of the grip but the Master’s dug her fingers into her side as warning. "How are you lot doing this evening?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Glad we missed the ceremony," Someone in a deep blue shirt said with a smirk. More pompous Time Lords, she should have known. "Heard it was quite boring. No uninvited guests or anything. I thought that the Lord President getting married would spark a much larger fuss."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We were anticipating an issue but everything went off without a hitch," The Master said. "Unfortunately."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who are they?" Yaz asked, not willing to be left out of the conversation for any longer than she had to be. "Old friends of yours?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Friends is a generous term," Blue Shirt said, looking her over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't make friends," The Master said tersely. "I make allies, and even that is a tumultuous relationship fraught with doom and peril."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Doesn't bode well for you, love," Blue Shirt said and Yaz bristled at the pity in his eyes. "Dealing with this one isn't the easiest of tasks."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You aren't much better," The Master said. "And she won't be dealing with me. I plan on cleaning my hands of this matter as soon as I get what I want."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s that-” Yaz started to protest, but she was immediately interrupted by someone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You mean a young wife wasn't what you wanted out of this? Color me shocked." Another Time Lord, this one in a deep green dress. She barely spared a glance at the Master before looking at Yaz, her gaze intense. "What are you going to do with her once you're done?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not sure yet," The Master said. "I haven't gotten that far. Our-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lord President," the General said, glancing at a watch. "I do believe it's time."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ah, yes, thank you General," the Master said, nodding to her before turning back to the group. "I'm afraid we must take our leave for the time being. I'll speak to all of you later."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Of course, Lord President," Blue Shirt said with a chuckle. "Be careful there, Yasmin Khan. I don't know if you quite understand what you've gotten yourself into yet."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think I'm starting to understand," Yaz replied, and before she could say anything else, the Master was pulling her towards the center of the room. There was a cleared space around them, one that grew larger as the moments passed and Yaz looked up at the Master. "What is this?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"One of your customs, I believe," the Master said. "I did quite a bit of research in preparation and I had presumed you would have looked over the itinerary for the evening."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't think we'd make it this far," Yaz hissed under her breath as the Master maneuvered her around a bit, placing Yaz's hand at her shoulder. The fabric of the Masters blouse was light, soft to the touch and Yaz swallowed thickly when the Master's hand drifted to her waist. "They're all looking at us."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That would be what is customary of a first dance," The Master said. "Honestly, one would think you knew your own customs but I suppose that's wrong." She linked their hands together, her fingers cool against Yaz's knuckles and she didn't give Yaz more than a moment to gather her thoughts before nodding to the band up towards the front of the room. Her hand tightened around Yaz’s a moment before the opening notes began to fill the room.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz recognized the song instantly. She'd been to enough weddings in Arcadia to know the tune and when the Master began to lead her through the dance, Yaz fell into step easily enough. The Master was near flush with her and Yaz could feel the double beat of her pulse. Every fibre of her being was begging to pull away from the Master but with all the eyes on them, it would be a horrendous move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her shoulders were tight as they began to dance. Their  movements were fluid, strangely so, and Yaz found herself falling into the rhythm. Her entire body was coiled like a spring, ready to get away from the Master the moment she could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you always this tense or is the audience making you nervous?" The Master whispered in her ear and Yaz jerked away out of instinct. The grip on her waist tightened immediately as the Master continued to lead her through the steps of the dance. Once more she was flush against the Master, chest to chest with her. "Or could it possibly be me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you think?" Yaz retorted, fighting to keep her voice low. The audience they had were far more likely to pick out any weaknesses they could detect, and Yaz knew that her life required that of the Master, however loath she was to admit it. “You’ve forced me into a situation I never wanted to be a part of.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You became a part of it the moment you decided to travel with the Doctor,” the Master said, and the calm tenor of her voice urged an irrational anger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think you're just jealous he wanted me and not you," Yaz muttered and the Master's face tightened as she dug her finger into Yaz's side, enough to cause a sting of pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think you need to relax," the Master snarled quietly. "There is an equilibrium here you couldn't even begin to imagine, and disturbing it would end horribly for you." She twirled Yaz with expert ease before continuing to lead her around the vast dance floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And you, I imagine," Yaz said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Obviously," the Master said. "Regardless of what you may think, Yasmin, I am aligned to keep myself alive and in power and nothing more." The music sped up, Yaz and the Master following suit. The movements came easily to her, though the Master was a presence that made it hard to hold any confidence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz glowered at her, hand clenching in the fabric of the Master's shirt. The Master barely reacted, pulling her face away from Yaz's just a bit, just so Yaz could see the smirk that was plastered across her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You'll throw me under the bus to make sure you get out alive?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Of course," the Master said. She laughed at Yaz's expression, her eyes flashing with a bit of madness. "Oh don't look so startled, Yasmin. It's purely for survival, you surely understand."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, I-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz was cut off from whatever she was about to say when the Master expertly twirled her away from her body, guiding her through the movements with ease. One moment Yaz was near flush against her, the next she was more than an arms length apart, and then again she was against the Master. It happened so fast that her head spun. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wha-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz was cut off as the Master's hand shifted up to her back and she slid her foot behind Yaz's, pushing against it until Yaz was cradled in her arms, the Master's hair curtaining her face.  The hand that had been on the Master's shoulder tightened around the clothes there as Yaz swallowed back a cry of surprise. The Master let go of her hand to provide more support behind her, moving with surprising care. Yaz's free hand came up to the nape of the Master's neck, fingers brushing against the baby hairs there. The Master was staring down at her with an unreadable expression, eyes tracking over her face. Her hands against Yaz's back were firm, her grip strong and, however against her instincts it went, she knew the Master wouldn't drop her.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hold for a moment," the Master whispered. The only other sound Yaz could hear was the roar of blood in her ears, the steady beat of her heart before the music resumed and the Master helped her back upright. There was a smattering of applause, mostly from the corner where they'd come from. The Master's hands didn't move from her back and Yaz let her fingers thread through her hair for a brief second before she remembered herself and shifted back, her hand falling back to the Master's shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Happy now?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kiss me," the Master said. "Now."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not gonna-" Yaz protested and the Master hushed her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do it or things could turn south very quickly. We have an audience, Yasmin, this is not a choice." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz glowered at her but screwed her courage. She rocked onto her toes and kissed the Master with as much conviction as she could. It was different than the one during their wedding, more loose and relaxed and the Master's hand held tight to her back, holding her in place. She tasted like mulled wine, one of the many drinks they were serving at the reception. Just as Yaz was letting her eyes slide shut, the Master pulled away and smirked at her before turning to bow to the audience.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The applause was less scattered this time, though many of the Council Members stared stoically at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"May I go now?" Yaz asked out of the corner of her mouth, offering a wave and a nod towards the hooting group of Time Lords. They seemed friendly, as friendly as Time Lords could be, but the Master sighed heavily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I suppose if you wish," The Master said. "But stay in this room for a bit longer. One of the brides leaving this early in the reception would attract suspicion."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And we wouldn't want that," Yaz muttered. "Got it." She moved away from the Master as quickly as she could manage, just barely avoiding tripping over her own feet. The crowd parted around her, most of the Time Lords barely sparing her a glance. When they did, it was mostly annoyance or complete indifference to her presence, which Yaz both savored and loathed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryan was waiting in the same place he had been, leaning against the wall, watching the windows towards the ceiling. The room they were in was huge, larger than any Yaz had been in, except for one of the larger recreational centers in Arcadia. Decorated floor to ceiling with intricate pieces of clockwork, some covered with a deep scarlet cloth (what the Master had chosen for their wedding) the walls pushed outward into something like a circle. A clock shape, most likely, knowing the Time Lords. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You look like you enjoyed that," Ryan remarked when she was in earshot. He didn't even take his gaze away from the windows. Though he didn't sound annoyed, Yaz could tell there was something like disappointment in his tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She didn't give me much of a choice," Yaz said. "Something about the greater good. I'm not exactly sure, I only know that she's insistent when she wants to be."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's the Lord President," Ryan said. "But you're her wife now. You could stand up to her."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'd like to keep my life a bit longer, thanks," Yaz replied, leaning against the wall next to him. She watched the crowd move. There were a few groups in the center of the room, dancing with the band, and a few from the group of rebellious Time Lords were moving to the beat as best they could. Even the Master was dancing with someone, though she looked quite reluctant in the act. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz took note of the grimace on her face, one that was poorly disguised. It seemed even the Lord President was hapless in the face of certain social conventions. From this far away, Yaz could admit that the Master seemed like a very skilled dancer. She moved with hidden grace, confidence as soaring as it always was, and she led no matter which partner she next chose (or was chosen for her).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If you keep starin' at her like that, they might start thinking you're actually married," Ryan said, nudging Yaz out of her thoughts. Yaz glowered at him and he shrugged. "You're giving her heart eyes, mate, what do you think everyone's gonna say about it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're supposed to be my guard, Ryan, not a commenter on my life," Yaz grumbled. "I don't care about her in that way, I never will. She's practically got me hostage here, Ryan, she's ruined my entire life." She scoffed, closing her eyes. "I can barely stand to look at her."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Now that's not a very nice thing to hear coming from your wife." Arms circled her waist and a chin fell to her shoulder. Yaz barely flinched, recognizing the voice immediately. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You're quite ungrateful."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And what do I have to be grateful for?" Yaz grunted, pushing away from the Master. She clung tighter, barely letting Yaz breathe. "You forcing me to marry you? Or maybe you threatening me with some sort of harm anytime you need me to do something?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You would have died with the Doctor," the Master whispered in her ear, only for Yaz to hear. She froze, arms stiffening for a moment before she relaxed against her bit. "Almost definitely. You have a chance at living now, and having a lavish life. I'd be grateful if I were you, or-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Or what, you'll kill me?" Yaz muttered back. "That wouldn't be such a terrible thing."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh I can do much worse than kill you, Yasmin Khan," the Master said in her ear, pressing a kiss to her cheek before pulling away. "But we'll talk about that later. Sinclair, why are you leaning against that wall instead of standing at attention? Did they teach you manners when you were training or was that something that was never covered with you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Apologies, Lord President," Ryan said frantically, scrambling away from the wall. He saluted when she came to stand in front of him, her eyebrow quirked. "Miss, er… Lady Khan wanted company and asked me to relax a bit more."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A lie, but Yaz wouldn't call him out on it. Losing the one friendly face in the citadel would be worse than anything the Master could do to her. She grabbed the Master's forearm gently in her hand and when the Time Lord looked back, she shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Leave Ryan alone," she said. "He's my most trusted friend and if you hurt him, you'll have to replace him and I bet that wouldn’t be an easy task."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master looked at her, surprised but she stepped away from Ryan with little more than a smirk in his direction. He relaxed a bit, giving a small sigh of relief as the Master returned her attention to Yaz. She pulled her arm away and ran her fingers across Yaz's cheek, the touch featherlight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm retiring for the evening," Yaz said quietly when the fingers tracking her cheek reached her jaw. She half expected the Master to dig her fingers in, grip her jaw so hard it would ache. It wouldn't have been out of the equation, but instead the Master nodded and pulled away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I believe I will too. Sinclair, make sure there are cleaning teams organized once the other partygoers have gone. If anyone asks after us, just inform them that we have retired to our room and wish not to be disturbed."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sour feeling went through the pit of Yaz's stomach but she allowed herself to be led away from the party. The Master ushered her out of the room and the door slammed shut behind them as they made their way down the corridor. After a few seconds, the Master’s hand slid around her elbow, guiding her with a gentle pull or push. She didn’t say anything, but Yaz could see her jaw clench when Yaz’s shoulder bumped against hers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t speak. There wasn’t much to speak about, after all. Yaz had little interest getting to know the Master, she was still clinging to the hope that she’d be able to leave soon, that the Doctor would pop into one of the corridors and there’d be a giant confrontation and she could clean her hands of the messy business that was Time Lord society. Was it likely? Of course not, and Yaz knew that somewhere in her. But it was easier to cling to hope than it was to resign herself to the path that was stretching out before her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gods, your thoughts are noisy,” the Master muttered, tugging her down a large staircase. “Oh, the Doctor will show up at some time!” the Master said in an annoying high pitched voice. “He’ll come and save me from the evil Master and we’ll get to run off into the stars!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want him to save me,” Yaz said. “I don’t want anything to do with him other than telling him how much he fucked me over.” The Master raised an eyebrow. “And maybe punch him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That sounds like a much more realistic reaction," The Master said. "And I do believe he would deserve it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So would you," Yaz retorted under her breath. The Master gave a short chuckle and nudged open a towering door with her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is my wing. You've been here before, of course, before you were allowed."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't forget," Yaz said. "How could I?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Human memory is a fickle thing," the Master said with a shrug. "I don't have time to keep up with what you do and don't remember. It's not my care nor my business." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz scoffed but didn't say anything more as the Master led her through the maze that was the Lord President's wing. There were doors dozen or so metres, each ornate but fairly small for the Citadel. Yaz didn't have much time to look at all of them, the Master had sped up and was practically dragging her along, but she noticed that a few of the doors had signs beside them, High Gallifreyan scrolled across each of them in shaky script. or what she was assumed was shaky, judging by the way a few of the lines were far more wobbly than others that she'd seen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, please do shut up," the Master said. "Have the courtesy to put up a block or just stop thinking."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Can't control that, can I?" Yaz demanded and she stumbled when the Master dragged her to a stop in front of a larger, darker door than any of the others. The Master looked at her with a rage that made Yaz recoil. SHe took a few steps back from the Master, as far as she was allowed by the harsh grip on her arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is my room," the Master said tersely. "What some would now consider our room, I suppose." She shoved open the door and tugged Yaz inside, nearly throwing her across the room. Yaz could feel the tension radiating off of her, it was in the way she shoved the door closed and glowered at her as she crossed the room. "What do you think?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz glanced around the room. It was near immaculate, completely unlike she thought the Master would keep it. The desk was clear of all but a few papers, the curtains drawn. In the corner there was a single lamp perched atop a table and beyond that the room was completely devoid of personal effects.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Is this actually your room?" Yaz asked, turning back to her. "It doesn't look lived in."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Time Lords barely sleep, Yasmin. If you knew anything about us you would know that." The Master looked about the room. "If you're quite done with standing about?" SHe motioned vaguely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't wanna sleep here," Yaz blurted out before she could help herself. "I'm not-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Gods, I didn't want you to sleep here," the Master said. "I wouldn't want your stench all over this room, what do you take me for?" She scoffed. "No, there's a room I've prepared for you and you'll be staying there for the time being. Until the Doctor comes."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wonderful," Yaz said flatly. "Show it to me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Magic word?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz gritted her teeth and stared at her for a moment before looking away. This wasn't the fight she needed to pick. "Please show me my room?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That wasn't so hard, was it?" The Master asked. "Follow me. And try to quiet down your thoughts, it's hard to ignore the mental equivalent of a newborn crying for comfort." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz choked back a retort and followed behind her, the Master's hand gripping her elbow once more. Yaz didn't point out it would be easier if the Master would just let her arm go. She had a feeling that would go over poorly, even if it would solve both of their problems. WHen her thoughts started to stray, she shook her head, focusing on just memorizing the route they were taking. Finally, they arrived at a room that Yaz had seen before, with the hastily scribbled Gallifreyan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is your room," the Master said. "I'm sure you're very tired. For a human, a day such as this would be quite stressful. I'll leave you to get rest but be ready to meet me in the council chambers tomorrow."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wait, before you swan off to wherever you go,” Yaz said. "I want Ryan. As my guard. I want him to keep being my guard for however long I'm here."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master raised an eyebrow, and glanced around. As if anyone would enter the wing without permission. Yaz had only done so herself on accident, but Yaz copied the action. The halls were empty, as Yaz thought they would be, no sounds of footsteps or anything out of place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Let's make a deal," The Master said slyly, shoving her hands into her pockets as she regarded Yaz. "You like deals, don't you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, you like deals," Yaz snapped. "I hate deals, I've already turned you down once, but I suppose if it gets me to bed faster, I'll play along. What do you want?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's not a matter of what I want, Yasmin, it's-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Liar," Yaz said. "Don't even try to fool me, I'm tired of your mind games and your smug attitude and your surety that I’ll bend to your will no matter what. I don’t-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yasmin Khan, I hold your fate in my hands, whether you like it or not. Sinclair's too, though I've held it longer than I've held yours. I could have him thrown out into the wastelands. I could have him sent off to fight somewhere and he'd never return...or if he did, he'd have seen things you could never imagine." She grinned, leaning into Yaz's personal space until Yaz could see the bits of gold in her eyes. "And I could do even worse to you if I chose to do so. No family who cares, no Doctor to swoop in and save you…” she trailed off, holding Yaz’s gaze for an impossibly long moment. Her hand came up to stroke under Yaz’s chin. “But you could change that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz gritted her teeth. "What's your deal?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ah, what was that, Yasmin?" The Master asked and Yaz curled a lip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's your deal, Master?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You get to keep Sinclair as your guard, he'll be under your command. I have no use for him after all, not if he's that loyal to you," The Master said. She brought her up to caress Yaz's cheek, her fingers drifting down her face for a second. The tips lingered against her throat for a moment before she pulled away. "However, in return, play along with all of this. The marriage, everything, to catch the attention of the Doctor."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What the hell is that supposed to mean, play along?" Yaz asked, leaning against the doorway. Her feet were sore, her arms ached, everything in her was screaming to agree so she could lay down but she wouldn't give the Master the satisfaction. Not until she knew everything. The Master kicked out a leg and twirled on the spot, shoving her hands back into her pockets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It means you accompany me to whatever formal events I happen to need. Dinners, diplomatic parties, dances, council forums and public forums. I need your presence at my side for these things," The Master said. "It's absolutely crucial. And, more than your presence, you must make it seem like we're getting along. Participate, even, once you’ve gotten into the swing of things. Even the Council must be convinced that we at least tolerate each other or this entire thing falls apart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Yaz asked, rubbing her forehead as her eyes started to feel heavy. She glanced up at the Master who, while looking quite smug, also looked filled with apprehension. "So I've gotta say yes."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You have a choice," the Master said. "And perhaps if you weren't so staunch about morals, you'd be able to make the right one. However, you humans and your bleeding hearts can't ever leave an injustice alone, can you?" She laughed, patted Yaz on the head and she pulled away from the contact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Rather a bleeding heart than a heart of stone," Yaz muttered. "And if I'm going to be going everywhere with you, I want Ryan there. He can't just guard me here, he has to guard me everywhere."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Of course, that can be arranged," the Master said. There was a small grin on her face, not like the big bombastic smug things she often wore but more subdued, thoughtful even. Yaz watched her warily as she took a step closer, reached out and grabbed Yaz's hand, bringing it up so she could kiss the brand new bracelet on her wrist. "I must say, it’s a pleasure to be your wife, Miss Khan."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz let her hold her hand for perhaps another second before yanking it away. The Master started backwards, regarding her with surprise and a bit of curiosity before the expression was gone from her face. It was replaced by that smirk once more and Yaz slammed the door in her face, retreating into the room she would now call her own. The Master’s receding footsteps were loud as was the near maniacal laugh that rang through the hall. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>After a month and a half, it's finally back. I'm very happy with this chapter and this story in general. Updates from here on out will be irregular but I'll try to post a chapter at least once a month. </p>
<p>Until next time</p>
<p>~~ jo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yaz is having...trouble adapting to life with the Time Lords</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this chapter is wholly dedicated to @zanthetran for being such a buddy and screaming at me to write</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You’re in the wrong seat.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaz had struggled to adjust to life in the Citadel as a non-prisoner. Well, as non-prisoner as being the Lord President's wife could be. It wasn't like she'd been given more freedom than before. All she'd gotten was a fancy title and a tether to the worst person in the galaxy. Wasn't the best trade off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she'd made the deal with the Master, she'd agreed to everything, however foolish it may have been, which led her to the High Council's chambers. The memory of the wedding clung to the walls, the silence as deafening as before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a Time Lord looming over her from where she was seated in the chamber, towards the back, as far from the front as she could manage. There was no one else there, just her and this Time Lord who, while they may not have been tall if she’d been standing, was nearly a head over her and was clearly trying to use it to their advantage. They spoke over her confused hum as they continued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're in the wrong seat. You must move now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wrong seat?" Yaz asked, looking down at the table.The material was starting to wear. She would have called it wood, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. "I didn't realize the seats were assigned-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Didn't you do any research on this place before you came here?" The Time Lord scoffed. "Now if you would please get out of my seat, the meeting is about to start and I don’t want to get on the wrong side of the Lord President."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Didn't really make the choice to come here, now did I?" Yaz muttered as she slipped out of the chair and moved towards the wall. More Time Lords entered the room, one by one, barely sparing her a glance before going about their business. Some sat, others stood and exchanged news and others still lingered up towards the front.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the Master entered, the room fell silent. Her gaze raked through the crowd of Time Lords, eyes settling on Yaz in the corner after a few seconds. She quirked an eyebrow and beckoned Yaz forward with a wave of her hand. Yaz didn’t move for a few seconds, watching her carefully until the curious and slightly bored expression morphed to one of annoyance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lady Khan, if you would please join me up here for a moment,” the Master said, and when Yaz arrived next to her, the Master gripped her arm tightly, hard enough to bruise. Her voice dropped until only the two of them could hear as her lips brushed the shell of Yaz’ ear. “The point of this endeavor is for you to make the effort to blend into society, not cause a fuss the first day you’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not my fault I don’t know about the seating arrangements of your council room,” Yaz hissed quietly as she glanced around the room. Few had gone back to their conversations, and most were still looking at the two of them. “You neglected to inform me of that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not your babysitter, Yasmin, you need to put in the effort yourself.” Yaz bristled but didn’t reply as the Master sat down and beckoned for Yaz to sit in the chair next to hers. Yaz did so, but not without glaring at her and the other Time Lords who were watching them with thinly veiled amusement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone, if you’d please sit down and shut up, I’ll be able to begin this meeting. The sooner I’m done here, the sooner I can go back to fun activities,” the Master said and the other Time Lords took their seats. Yaz looked at all of them, memorizing faces placement, anything she could before the Master spoke what yaz could only assume were the traditional opening words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The meeting was long, the Master’s voice taking on an almost drone-like quality. Yaz’s focus shifted in and out through the course of the meeting. Sometimes she focused on whole phrases at a time, her attention on the Master for most of the meeting until everything slipped away again and her gaze wandered around the room and she fought to keep boredom from her face. It was hard to pretend that the meeting was as fascinating as all the others were trying to make it out to be, staring attentively at the Master as she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaz only perked up when the Master’s mouth formed the word Arcadia, harsh and biting. It was the most emotion Yaz had seen displayed from her the entire time and she sat up straighter in her chair, leaning towards the Master as she got to her feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s been more damage reported from the recent storms that hit Arcadia,” the Master said, pacing between the table and where she’d been sitting before. No one stopped her. “Shops, homes, even one of our facilities, destroyed by the winds and debris. It doesn’t look like the barrage will be easing soon but we cannot risk sending anyone in to help. We’d lose even more people that way.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaz opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut as one of the Time Lords spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our relations with Arcadia are a bit shaky at the moment, Lord President. Surely a show of support in some way would help ease the tension. You wouldn’t want another revolt on your hands and they </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> your citizens.” It was the General, sitting up in her chair and regarding the Master with a cold expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You make a good point, but consider: I don’t want to,” the Master said. “We need those supplies, I’m sure the storms are going to change direction soon and head here. Those in Arcadia must find a way to survive on their own for the time being.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not fair,” Yaz said before she could stop herself. The air in the room shifted and Yaz glanced around. Eyes were on her, all of them in fact, and the Time Lords looked less than impressed with her outburst. The Master, however, regarded her with annoyance and a bit of curiosity. She forged ahead. “The people in Arcadia are dying and you’re basing your relief plan on whether or not you think the storm will come here next? We have time to assemble more supplies should we need them. If you don’t act, Arcadia will be gone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You must agree that bringing a human in here was a bad decision.” One of the Time Lords looked at her. “Do you know anything of our customs, Miss Khan?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lady Khan,” Yaz corrected with a bite in her tone. “I don’t need to know customs to know that we can save lives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve spoken out of time, Lady Khan,” the General said, and, while her tone was gentler, she was still obviously reprimanding Yaz. “This is not a place for frivolous speeches about morality-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t frivolous,” Yaz said. “Arcadia is my home, my family, my friends, they all live there. It is of great importance to me that Arcadia survive through this storm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The city will survive,” The Master said tersely. “Whether your friends and family do is no matter to us. Clearly bringing you was a mistake. If you could take your leave, please.” She nodded to Ryan, who took a few steps forward and gripped Yaz’s arm gently, trying to lead her away. Yaz refused to move. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not leaving,” Yaz said firmly and the Master nodded to the room before grabbing her arm, dragging her out of the council chambers until they were a good distance away. Her grip on Yaz’s arm was tight enough to bruise and Yaz winced when she pulled away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You will cooperate or I will rescind any aid I might have thought about sending to Arcadia,” The Master said shortly, glowering at her. She hushed anything that Yaz was about to say before continuing. “And take this time to research some information on how these things work. I didn’t think I had to tell you something as simple as that but I suppose I was wrong.” She shook her head and pressed a kiss to Yaz’s bracelet before turning on her heel and leaving. Yaz was left staring after her once more, confused even as Ryan came to escort her back to her bedroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really made her mad there, mate,” he said, and she didn’t reply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>********</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yaz was on time. She’d left her room 10 minutes earlier than she’d planned to, but had gotten lost in the Lord President’s wing (it was still so hard to navigate and she’d sworn on more than one occasion that the halls shifted as she went) and lost any extra time that she may have had. No matter, she would arrive just as the dance was scheduled to begin and shouldn't have a lot of trouble melting into the crowd like she had at her own wedding. At least there wouldn't just be Time Lords there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had an ambassador of some sort visiting, one from a planet that Yaz had never heard of and one that she wasn't much concerned about. After all, it wasn't as if the fate of Gallifrey rested on her shoulders. That responsibility ultimately fell to her wife, and none of the Time Lords seemed to care about her opinion anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushed open the doors to the large dance hall just as the watch on her wrist indicated a new hour. The party inside stopped dead and all eyes turned to her. Time Lords and representatives alike turned to look at her and Yaz fought a sudden surge of panic. She suppressed it, swallowing thickly as she moved further into the room. She glanced around, looking for a familiar face to engage with, but even the guards were different from last time. Ryan had taken the evening off, much to her disappointment, and the guard that was in his place was lackluster in conversation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaz glanced around the room, trying to see if she could find the Master, but gave up after a few seconds of scanning the crowd. Most of them went back to what they were doing, talking, a few dancing in a small makeshift space that had been made for them, but Yaz ignored them as she waded further into the crowd, offering apologies as she went. Maybe she could find another one of the Time Lords that had been friendly thus far, the General or maybe one of the few she'd talked to during their wedding. The Master’s...not friends, but allies. With that thought in mind, she started to move with more fervor until she stumbled across the General, by happenstance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lady Khan," the General said, and she smiled slightly. "Wonderful to see you, I thought you weren't going to make it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just got a little lost on the way is all," Yaz said. "I hadn't realized that we were meeting so early, I would have left sooner." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Most Time Lords disregard start times or end times. It is a...it is an unnecessary thing for us. Time-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I understand," Yaz said. She didn't, but hearing a Time Lord lecture her about how great they were with their disregard for time (despite their obsession with it at times) didn't seem like something that would be enjoyable. The conversation shifted, the General asking questions about Arcadia, how it had been when she left, whether she was in contact with anyone from the city.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We managed to get those supplies to them," she said. "Not as many as we'd hoped, unfortunately, but it was more than what the Lord President had been willing to give before. I suppose we owe that to you, despite how...tersely you went about it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Arcadia was my home," Yaz said. "I grew up there, I couldn't just leave it in its time of need, especially not when it was about things they couldn't control. Storms, disasters like that...they're not the fault of the people, they shouldn't suffer when there were things we could do to alleviate that suffering."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You give wonderful impassioned speeches," the General said, and she almost looked sad as she placed a hand on Yaz's shoulder. "But that will not help you here, no matter what you think. Time Lords are not persuaded by emotion often, it's a miracle the Master was willing to listen to you. Be more careful, in the future."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why are you helping me?" Yaz asked but before the General could answer she was pulled away by another group, leaving Yaz standing alone in the middle of the room. The band was quiet and no one was looking at her (thank the gods) so she slipped to the back of the room, settling against a wall for another long night of observing and wishing she could be a part of things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingling with the Time Lords around always proved difficult. They had very set customs about interacting with the customs of others, ones she'd never seen or heard of before. It was infuriating that no one told her the rules, no one would lend her a helping hand or even show her where in the library she should begin looking. There was nothing she could do but watch and try and fail over and over again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Failure wasn't a bad thing by itself, but failure around the Time Lords was deadly. Failure in a setting like this could  mean heated debates, could spark wars. She needed to be careful or she'd end up the reason Gallifrey plunged into war after such an era of peace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lady Khan, I presume?" One of the representatives handed her a tall flute, which she accepted with a friendly smile. Immediately the man recoiled and she cursed herself. "Er, you seemed lonely over here, I was hoping to be able to keep you company?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course," Yaz said. "I apologize, this evening is highly stressful and I haven't seen my wife this evening. She must be making the rounds as I am."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The Lord President does seem to be in a much more sociable mood," the representative said. "I've never seen her talk to so many people before without offending anyone. Either her skills have vastly improved since the last time we all saw her or she's making an effort to play nice."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know her well, then?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Only through reputation, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a fairly infamous character." They shared a chuckle, Yaz remembering all too well the stories that she'd heard about her wife. "I am much more interested in you, Lady Khan, how someone from Arcadia came to stand in the court of the Time Lords without being themself a Time Lord. It's a very difficult feat, or so I've been told."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It wasn't easy, no," Yaz said. "And I'm not sure how I ended up here myself if I'm honest. One day I was sitting at home and the next I was here and the next the Lord President and I were arranging our marriage."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you love her?" the representative asked and Yaz scoffed, looking out over the crowd. They were oblivious to the two of them in their little bubble, to Yaz who was out of place even out of the way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No," Yaz said. "She ruined my life, took me from home, made me come here. I don't know if I could ever love her. And I don't know if I want to. You've heard the stories, she's a monster. The people she's killed..." Yaz trailed off with a shudder. "If I could love someone like that, I don't think I would recognize myself."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a beat of silence before the representative left with little more than a word of farewell. He wandered off into the crowd and before Yaz could ask where he was going, he'd disappeared. She settled against the nearest wall, watching the crowd, waiting for someone to do something when the Master came striding up out of the corner of her eye. By the time she got there, Yaz had already examined her suit, noted the dusting of stars on the jacket and the swirl of galaxies in her tie. It was navy blue, quite different from her normal crimson reds, but Yaz noted the way it made the fringes of her golden hair stand out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Space themed?" She asked. "Bit on the nose for you, isn't it? I don't think you've ever-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What did you say to him?" the Master bit out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Pardon?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The representative you were just talking to. He came and found me immediately, told me about some sort of a- a grave offense against his people. One that you committed." The Master looked to be holding on to her temper by a thread, the muscles in her neck jumping as she stared at Yaz with an intensity she'd never seen before. "What. Did. You. Say."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaz swallowed against the fear stirring in her chest as the Master stared her down, her hand falling on Yaz’s shoulder and holding it tight. Yaz couldn’t have moved if she tried. She glanced around the room, wondering if she could ask for assistance from anyone present but no one was paying attention to them. No, she and the Master were almost in their own little bubble, separated from the rest of the world. The Master's grip tightened and Yaz winced, shying away a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yasmin, I won't ask again."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He asked if I loved you," Yaz said. "And I told him the truth." The hand tightened a bit more and Yaz bit back a yelp before the Master pulled away, running a hand through her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You told him the truth," the Master muttered. "Of course you told him the truth, you don't know any better. How would you know-" She gave a frustrated growl, looking up at the ceiling as she raked her fingers through her hair. "You've completely messed it all up and you don't even understand-" She cut herself off, eyes closing as she took a few deep breaths. "Go back to your room, Yasmin."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lord Presi-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I said go back to your room," the Master said, whirling about on her. The rage in her eyes was palpable and Yaz stepped back. "I don't care that you just got here, just like before you've completely ruined this evening. If I have to pick up after you one more time Yasmin, I can assure you whatever ease you've found here will be completely eradicated." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaz fled before the Master could say anything else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>******</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yaz watched her step after that incident. She did as best as she could to keep from running into the Master, avoided her when they were in the same room, walked on the other side of the hall or even ducked into rooms when she saw her coming. It wasn't like her to be quite so...cowardly, but the Master had made it very clear that even one more slip-up could mean the end of everything good she had in the Citadel. Even if it wasn't much, it was what she cherished more than anything and Yaz knew that losing it would mean losing a grip on herself that even she wasn't sure she could regain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan had been her closest friend in that time, always walking with her, guarding her door. He hadn't taken a day off since the incident, claiming that he needed her more than whatever family he had would. He was there because of them, he said. His legacy, as it were, and, though he missed his Nan dearly, his duty was to Yaz first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm supposed to protect you, Yaz," he'd said as they walked to one of numerous meetings. His eyes scanned the hallways as they always did, keeping an eye out for the flash of blonde and crimson that would signify the Master's presence. "I swore myself to it, actually. The Master made me, told me that if I didn't I would end up like my father had, disgraced. Not that I mind," he added quickly after her expression fell. "I want to make sure you're safe here, Yaz."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Even if it's from the Master?" Yaz asked. "Couldn't she just ask you to do away with me and you'd have to obey her. She's the Lord President, afterall, she makes the rules at the end of the day. I'm nothing but some human she picked up by happenstance."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She put me under your direct command," Ryan said. "In a roundabout way, that means I don't really have to obey anything that she says. Nothing that would counteract what you want me to do, anyway." He stopped then, holding Yaz's shoulder gently. She shrugged him off on instinct and ignored the look of hurt that briefly flashed across his face. "I'd never hurt you. You're too good for this place, Yaz, you don't belong here with all the Time Lords and those they've dragged down with them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That include you?" Yaz had asked, and a look crossed his face that she couldn't recognize.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I suppose it does."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That exchange, though it left her a little shaken, had brought a few things into perspective for Yaz. After the third meeting where she'd sat through and said nothing, Yaz decided things needed to change, and if the Time Lords weren't going to allow her to speak semi-freely, she'd have to do a bit of research on how to play their own system against them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While she had no idea of where to start (the libraries in the Citadel were large and she barely knew how to navigate from one end to the other, let alone find a specific book she would need) she knew that she had time on her hands, too much of it, enough that she could spend hours in the library and never get through a quarter of the section she was searching in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After enlisting some help from Ryan, she found the books that she needed and began to read. Etiquette books, old laws, new laws (which were also old, but not quite as old as the old laws) everything that one could ever want to know about how to fit into a society where the correct order of doing things were prioritized over what things were in question. After two days of searching and reading, everything started to jumble together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was she allowed to speak when the first sun was high, or when it was low? Did the Master have to say something before she was allowed to, or did she have free reign before the Master opened her mouth? Was speaking freely something she was ever allowed to do? Did the council give permission or the Lord President? Everything was yes and no all at once, and was based completely around the Lord President’s mood, which was said to fluctuate by time of year to time of day, down to how many seconds were allowed to pass between one’s first words and their last. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan found her more than once slumped over a book, asleep after hours of studying and absorbing information. He'd wake her, walk her back to her room with a lecture on how the Time Lords really weren't worth all the fuss when it came down to things, the lecture that Yaz never listened to, always returning the next day after one of their meetings to pick up where she'd left off the night before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, a week after the disaster that was the dance, Yaz had a chance to prove herself once more to the Time Lords. Her final chance, if the Master was to be believed. It was an open audience, one where people from all across Gallifrey could come and request help from the Time Lords.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A snivelling show of weakness," the Master called it moments before the doors opened. Yaz hadn't responded, opting to settle better into her chair. The Master smirked, leaning over her. "If I didn't know any better, I would say I've taken the fight out of you." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But you know better, don't you?" Yaz asked. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, Lord President, but I'll do everything in my power to keep out from under it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It might be frightening to you, Yasmin, but I fear you’ve already failed. But whatever you wish to believe, I suppose," the Master said with a small grin. She pressed a kiss to Yaz's wrist, making her arm tingle before the Lord President sat down. She motioned for the doors to open. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In and out, people filtered, airing grievances so trivial, Yaz had to wonder if the Master had been correct in her assessment. Her attention waned as the day went on, but she stayed silent, kept an eye on the time and on the Master, and spoke when her opinion was asked for. She behaved perfectly, didn't speak out of turn, didn't fidget, do anything that might make the Master regret her presence. Everything was going well</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until they brought in a prisoner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was shackled, his wrists bound together bound to his feet in chains that clinked with every move he made. His face was bloodied and covered in dirt, clothes torn, unkempt, and his eyes red. The guards threw him to the floor and they watched him stumble onto his knees, barely catching himself before his face hit the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master regarded him with disdain, more than she kept for anyone else that they'd scene that day. She looked him over, his dirty appearance, the cuts on his arms and legs, her eyes flitting to Yaz before, in a bored tone, she glanced down at him and said "Execution."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one said anything. Yaz was paying attention, full attention, and she opened her mouth to speak before the Master cut off anything she could say as she continued, almost jovial.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's been a good while since we've had an execution and I've been meaning to set one up. This will provide the perfect opportunity. Which of our numerous allies should we invite to bear witness?" When the room was silent, the Master pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're making me think you don't approve."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was it, Yaz's chance. It would be the only one that she had before the Master gave her official ruling and she quietly cleared her throat. The Master looked at her, quirked an eyebrow in warning and Yaz swallowed before straightening in her seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If I may voice my opinion," she said, and the voice that came from her almost didn't sound like her own. It was far too formal, something she'd never say had it not been for this situation, this dog and pony show she had to participate in if she wanted a chance at changing things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course, First Lady," the Master said, slouching into her chair, ceding the audience to her. "Full permission to speak freely and such. Just make it quick, will you? I've got a pain in my neck that isn't going away and I'm hoping to leave soon."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What has this man done to warrant execution?" Yaz asked, looking around at the assorted faces in the crowd. No one responded, not even the Master. "I'm sure you lot would love to just kill anyone who even slightly breaks the law, but until you have a proper trial for him...this isn't the way to go about this. There is value in life, whether or not you think there is. This man, despite his crimes, has a worth. And until you prove-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you done nattering yet?" The Master asked, reclining in her chair. Yaz was sure that if she could proper her feet up, she would have. "Because I have a few engagements later this evening and I'd like a chance of being on time to them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm just asking you to reconsider your verdict," Yaz said, pushing the words through gritted teeth. It was taking everything to keep a lid on her temper, but she managed to do so, meeting the Master's gaze as levelly as she could. "This man's life is not a source of entertainment, it is valuable, whatever you might think. Pease, reconsider your verdict, Lord President." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master looked up at the ceiling, tapping her finger against her chin as she regarded the different bits of metal twisting around each other. Yaz's heart hammered away in her chest the more time the Master took regarding the decision. Her face softened a fraction when her gaze flitted to Yaz and then she looked back down at the man, struggling to stay up right, even on his knees. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I have reconsidered," she said and Yaz felt the relief rush through her body, about to thank the Master when she spoke again. "And my verdict remains the same. Execution. We cannot be gentle with criminals, Lady Khan. It sends an improper message to those who look to use for leadership."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaz swallowed thickly, took her seat and didn't speak for the rest of the audience, leaving the moment the Master dismissed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*****</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Master gave her a quick kiss before she left, and it was one of the most performative thus far. Even compared to their wedding, the Master was stiff, barely there before she'd pulled away leaving Yaz alone. Out the door she went, the General at her heels and Yaz was standing there, staring after her for a few good moments before she'd turned away and looked around the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Most of the Time Lords were talking among themselves, a few looking over at her as she lingered in place. WIth the Master and the General gone, there weren't very many people that Yaz could talk to and Ryan had been assigned to guard the doors. She couldn't interact with him or they'd both be yelled at, and she was still on such thin ice with the Master that she didn't want to risk doing anything that would call attention to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She leaned back against the chair, not quite wanting to leave, still not knowing when it was appropriate to duck out of a meeting, or the end of a meeting. None of the Time Lords were moving but they were all engaged in conversation. Yaz wasn't, she was just standing and looking around, probably looking like an idiot in the midst of it all and if she hadn't been scared of mucking everything up, she'd go and make conversation. Time Lords were too easy to offend, too pompous for her tastes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she glanced around the room, Yaz's gaze fell on one of the workers trying to shift one of the larger tables out of the room. They'd been in the middle of treaty negotiations with another one of the Temporal Powers, one which Yaz hadn't been able to see or really understand in any way. They'd required a whole separate table, however, one that she'd seen seven workers carrying in. Only one was attempting to move it now, and,  without much thought, Yaz jogged over, offered a grin and motioned for a few others to join them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They looked startled at her presence but immediately accepted her help and, in no time at all, the table had been cleared from the room along with the chairs that had been scattered about the area. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What's it like then?" One of them asked after everything had been cleared away and they'd gone to their own side of the room, away from the Time Lords. "Being married to the Master? Does she really kill people if they get too close to her?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not usually, no," Yaz said. "But it's happened once or twice." Everyone winced and Yaz grimaced. "But we don't really talk much. She keeps to herself and I keep to myself. It's only during meetings like this that our paths cross, and even when they do, it's awkward."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then why does she keep you around?" another one of the workers asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She has her reasons,' Yaz said with a shrug. "And I'm not one to complain about not being executed."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Seems to me that being executed would be better than being linked to the Master for the rest of your life, however long it might be."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm still trying to decide on that," Yaz said faintly. "I'm still trying to decide."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Decide on what, Lady Khan?" The voice from behind her was distinctly pompous, stuffy, and Yaz turned around slowly, already wincing when she was greeted with the face of a stern-looking Time Lord staring down at her. She grimaced a bit and dismissed the workers with a wave of her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What should be done with the table that was required for our guests, of cour-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't try to lie to me, Lady Khan," the Time Lord said and Yaz noticed a flash of crimson enter the room. Only one of the Time Lords would risk that deep of a color, bright against the faded red of the other robes. "I understand that you're relatively new to this entire situation, however, I must insist that you make the attempt to adapt or-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Chancellor," the Master's smooth voice came from behind Yaz and her hand came to rest on Yaz's shoulder, holding tightly. "I hope there isn't a problem?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your wife, Lord President," the Chancellor said and Yaz winced when the fingers dug tighter into her skin, nearly against a pressure point. "She's spent the last ten minutes over here, working with the other humans. She lifted a table with them, for Rassilon's sake." He looked even more frustrated than before and it was as if Yaz had left the conversation. "Keep a leash on your wife, Doctor. With the diplomats constantly running about, we don't have time to teach a human our ways." He glared at the two of them, the harsher look directed at Yaz herself before he turned and left them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master's hand at her shoulder didn't loosen as she leaned in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What did I tell you, Yasmin?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was-I didn't think that-it's not explicitly stated that working side by side with humans is a...wrong or taboo thing," Yaz said. "I've been trying, I really have, I've been-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not here, Yasmin," the Master said, and her hand swiftly moved from her shoulder to the back of her neck, holding tight there even as Yaz tried to squirm away on instinct. "You've already caused enough of a scene I think."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the Master was leading her out of the room, hand still on the back of her neck, fingers digging in enough to hurt and Yaz swallowed back the pain until they'd made it back to the President's wing, where she pulled away from the Master, shoving her back until there was a good distance between the two of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yas-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Leave me alone," Yaz said, curling in herself a bit as she dodged the Master's reaching hand. "I don't-I'll speak with you later." And then she was slipping into her room, locking the door even as she could feel the Master linger outside the door before her footsteps receded. The moment she was gone, Yaz crumpled against the door, trying to focus her thoughts and keep from losing it completely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*****</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yaz didn't bother knocking when she entered the Master's room. She had no doubt that she was in there, she'd seen her enter only a few moments before once their final meeting of the day had wrapped up. Everything had been timed, a plan laid out with Ryan before either of them had enacted this, admittedly strange scheme. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We need to talk," Yaz said, mustering as forceful a tone as she could. She watched the Master's face, watched the way it crinkled in confusion, the way it relaxed a bit and was replaced with a smirk. "Now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'd assumed," The Master said. "Come in." She motioned to the bed, but Yaz only stepped past the threshold and crossed her arms over her chest, keeping a close eye on the Master. "What do you wish to speak about, Yasmin?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I want-" she cut herself off, choosing her next words carefully. "You must have noticed at this point that I'm not adapting well to Time Lord society."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You do appear to be having troubles, yes, but I had assumed it was something to do with settling into a new routine."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Bullshit," Yaz said. "You knew exactly what was going to happen when you told me to play along, but you did so anyway. And then you let me just flounder and did nothing when I was struggling to do what you asked. And then you scolded me in front of everyone even though it was your idea to do everything in the first place-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Miss Khan, are you going to stand there and point fingers at me when you failed so obviously to learn the ins and outs of my culture? I'm sorry, but it isn't my fault you're struggling so much." Yaz could tell by the smirk on her face that the Master didn't believe a word that she'd said. Unlike back in the council room, Yaz allowed her temper to boil over a bit, and felt the anger flare in her stomach like a fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I needed your help and you weren't there. You were laughing and pointing like I was some sort of an animal in a cage."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You didn't ask for help, Miss Khan," the Master said. "Am I supposed to know every time you're in conflict?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're supposed to help me," Yaz said. "I can't do this by myself and you've just left me out here alone-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You did not ask for help," the Master said, and then she was up  in Yaz's face, noses nearly brushing. Anger saturated the creases of her face and she reached up, gripping Yaz's shirt. "And I did not offer it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Help me, then." Yaz sucked in a sharp breath after saying the words, searching her wife's face. "This is me, asking for help. I can't figure this out, no matter how many books I read on the subject, no matter how often I watch you and the other Time Lords. There's too much information." She dared a glance at the endless hazel depths of the Master's eyes. "Please help me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" the Master asked, and her grip on Yaz's shirt loosened as her fingers stroked Yaz's cheek. It took everything in her power not to flinch away. "What help do you need?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I need to know how to navigate...everything, really. I don't know any of the strange customs that you lot seem so obsessed with when it comes to speaking during council meetings-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You need coaching, is what you're saying," the Master said. "It would be easier to cope with your newfound status in life if you were given the appropriate resources to adjust?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes," Yaz said. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Look, you want this to be convincing, right? You want to lure the Doctor in? Me being good at this is exactly what you need. Imagine what he'll feel when he learns that you've taken me into your court and put me in such a high position? He'll be absolutely livid, he'll come right here, no chasing about the stars."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master smirked and took a few steps back, rotating on her heel as she started to slowly pace the length of the floor. she had a smug smile on her face, one that set something off in the back of Yaz's mind but she squared her shoulders and faced the Master until she spoke again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You've already passed your first lesson, Yasmin," the Master said. "Though I had expected a bit more manipulation from you, I must say I'm surprised at how easily you took to that. Bravo."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That was-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A test? Yes," The Master said. "You can say anything, Yasmin, your words mean nothing in this world. Everyone has a hidden agenda, you, me, the General, everyone we know. And many others that you don't. Lesson 1: Manipulate."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How do i know what to say?" Yaz asked. "How to manipulate. It's luck that I know what you want, your strange obsession with the Doctor and making him pay for whatever it is he did to you. The others? I have no idea.'</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll tell you," the Master said. "But..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But? What's the catch?" Yaz demanded. She was sick of the Master talking circles around everything, sick of the way she had to be so cautious in this place that was supposed to be her new home. "There has to be a catch."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Telepathy," The Master said. "The most efficient and streamlined process of giving you the information. But I'm not doing it unless you agree." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Fine," Yaz said looking around the room. When her gaze settled on the Master, she nodded. "Fine." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I need you to properly agree, Yasmin," The Master said firmly. "Verbally. I'm not doing it any other way."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What," Yaz scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. The Master's face hardened a bit as she continued. "D'you need an engraved invitation?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"In a way, yes," the Master said tersely, "when it comes to telepathy. It's not just slipping in and out of your mind, Yasmin. This is something neither of us can go back on. A telepathic bond is permanent, and takes a lot of work and pain to undo. I need you to understand this, I need you to be sure." Any hint of the playful teasing, anything other than the serious expression on her face, was gone. Her eyes were hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I understand," Yaz said. "And I need your help." She reached out and grabbed the Master's wrist, holding it loosely in her grip. There was a gentle pressure at the back of her mind, waiting permission. "What's another privacy barrier broken between us. You've already been in my brain once or twice, that's enough for you, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yaz, this is seriou-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Master, please," Yaz said, her grip tightening a bit. Their faces were so close together, she could feel the Master's hearts beating and her own heart was beating and the blood was roaring in her ears. "I need your help."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And my help you shall have.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this took forever and i know it did but i think it turned out fairly well. i've already started work on the next chapter but i will not be guaranteeing when it will be up. hopefully before the end of october</p><p>until next time,</p><p>~jo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yaz is finally settling into her position as the Lord President's wife, though not without a bit of help from the Time Lord in question</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Did it take 3 months to write this chapter? Yes. Is it finally here and a complete mess tonally because I wrote a quarter of it 3 months ago? Yes. Am I trying my best? Yes.</p>
<p>I do hope to get more chapters written before the semester starts up again and then release them sporadically throughout the first few months of the new year so there's that to look forward to!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Yaz was prepared for the next formal dinner that came along. She arrived early, surveyed the area, got to have polite conversation with the caterers (despite what the Time Lords said, she would always make time to speak to the staff that served them. Her parents hadn’t raised her like a Time Lord, after all, she just lived among them). She even got to look at all the decorations they’d put so much time into finding, something that she hadn’t bothered to with the last one or with her own wedding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t until nearly thirty minutes after she arrived that the Master showed up. She was dressed in a dark blue suit, almost black with small white stars smattering it. Her hair was tied back neatly, her eyes raking over the room still full of workers until they landed on Yaz and she gave a predatory smile. As she made her way over, Yaz dropped her thumbs to the pockets of her dress, squaring her shoulders as she prepared to meet the Master head on once more. Her bracelet was cold against her wrist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you ready for this evening, Yasmin?” the Master asked, bending down to press a quick kiss to her cheek. Yaz didn’t even flinch, instead returning the gesture before the Master could pull away, meeting her eyes when the Master quirked an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” Yaz said. “I’m prepared for anything, actually. Took notes and everything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” The Master said, and her arm wrapped about Yaz’s waist, turning her slightly to face the door. “Because I do believe our guests are coming.” She nodded towards the door, her arm hand falling to Yaz’s back where it stayed even as they moved forward to greet their guests.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Are you actually prepared for this evening?</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Master’s voice rang through Yaz’s head the moment she turned to greet those that were entering. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I just want to make sure that you know what you’ll be getting into.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I dealt well with it last time, didn’t I?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yaz retorted mentally as she shook the hand of a Time Lord she couldn’t recognize.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You definitely didn’t,</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Master gave a small smile to one of the diplomats that walked through the door, motioning them over to one of the other Time Lords. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I know for a fact that you blundered your way through the entire thing. Just stick by me tonight and everything should go well.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Stick by you?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Constant contact, Yasmin, </span>
  </em>
  <span>The Master replied, leading her over to one of the groups that was already beginning to gather together. She spoke with ease, even as she told Yaz, </span>
  <em>
    <span>As long as we’re in contact, I can speak to you. Hence why I wouldn’t let you get up during the meeting last week.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I thought that was just you needin to control everything that I do,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yaz said, shifting a bit closer until her arm was brushing against the Master’s side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It was that too,</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Master said, and turned her attention back to the conversation. Yaz didn’t speak much for the duration of it, interjecting occasionally when the Master would indicate it would be good, but she let the Master carry their end of the conversation, choosing instead to smile politely and fiddle with the pockets in her dress.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So Yasmin, how are you enjoying the Citadel so far?” Yaz glanced up as one of the diplomats spoke, giving a polite smile. The Master’s hand at her back tightened on her dress as her voice rang out through Yaz’s mind, clear and calm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m enjoying it quite nicely, Ambassador Tamogon,</span>
  </em>
  <span> came the reply easily to Yaz’s tongue, accentuated by the fake but polite smile the Master had spent hours teaching her. It came frighteningly easy to her, the words and the expression, the inflection, everything fake but perfect. She didn’t hear the reply, the Master’s voice was already curling around her consciousness, nearly smothering her own thoughts whole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A little rusty, but you did well enough,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she said, her fingers drumming a four-beat rhythm against her back. Yaz barely reacted, a slight, quick shift of her gaze in the Master’s direction before her face was schooled once more into a stoic front.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Well enough? </span>
  </em>
  <span>She challenged and the Master’s chuckle rang through her mind, clear as if it had been aloud. Yaz didn’t think she’d ever get used to the feeling of someone in her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>For having two weeks between practice, I think I did quite well.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I decide how well you do or don’t do,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Master replied, and the warning wasn't so much in her tone as it was in the thick feeling surrounding Yaz's brain. It was almost suppressive, pushing and pushing against her until she yielded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Yaz thought back shortly. The force left almost immediately, the relief instant and Yaz sighed quietly, plastering on a fake smile when Ambassador Tamogon sent her a questioning look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll be on our way,” the Master said, cutting off whoever was speaking a few moments later. “There’s so many people to speak to. You know how it is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course.” The Ambassador nodded to the two of them. “Thank you for your hospitality, Lord President, Lady Khan. I will see you later this evening, I hope?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope so,” Yaz said, giving a small wave before the Master turned them around and guided her towards the other end of the hall, more towards the other Time Lords. There the rowdy group had gathered once more. They seemed to be a staple at these kinds of meetings, a few Time Lords that didn’t gather with the rest of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You seem to be comfortable this evening, Lady Khan,” one said, chuckling as he leaned back against one of the tables. “Much more than other evenings, I see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m always comfortable,” Yaz said tersely. She felt the Master’s grip tighten at her back and she relaxed her shoulders a bit, lifting her chin. “However, I have been pleased with the progress that we’ve made with the Ambassador. I suppose it is improving things.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s wonderful,” he said, and turned back to conversation with one of the other Time Lords in the group. Yaz cocked her head to the side once the attention was off of her, listening for a moment to the filing room until the Master’s voice caressed the edges of her mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You’re not fond of them, are you?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They’re loud,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yaz replied with the mental equivalent of a shrug. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And they seem to have a lot of enjoyment in teasing me and mocking me.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So do I,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Master said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But I don’t have to put up with them like I have to put up with you,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yaz retorted. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now, I do believe our song is on.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Our song?” The Master murmured aloud, and she looked about. Yaz was already moving, however, her arm curling around the Master’s waist and pulling her towards the open gap in the room. With a practiced ease she didn’t know she had, Yaz shifted the Master into position and was leading her through the dance. This time, the Master wasn’t even perturbed about slipping into her mind, didn’t give any warning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What game are you playing? </span>
  </em>
  <span>She hissed, her voice ringing in Yaz’s head, over the sudden pounding of her heart. Yaz didn’t let herself be distracted from the dance, however.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The same as you. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She twirled the Master around, a bit of a struggle considering the Master was, well, herself, but it was effective. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But I’m becoming more than a pawn.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You’ll never make it in this world, Yasmin,</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Master said, using her hand on Yaz’s shoulder to stroke her hair. The touch was light but tender and it was almost enough to distract Yaz. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You leave yourself too open. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She leaned in, her breath brushing across Yaz’s ear as she murmured, “You need me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz scowled and drew the Master closer to her, pulling her in until their chests were flush and she could stare into the Master’s eyes. Her heart was pounding in her ears, her brain a mess of feelings and thoughts, the Master’s whisperings echoing about until she had to step away. She twirled the Master away from her again, letting their fingers drift apart for a second, giving her a moment of rest. A moment of clarity, one could say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the Master was back against her, Yaz curled both her arms around the Master, holding the back of her suit as she shifted her weight, overbalancing the Master. She seemed to be expecting it, moving through the movement without effort until Yaz was staring down at her, the most confident smirk she could muster while the Master looked up, expression thoughtful. Her fingers curled through Yaz’s hair, digging in a bit too much but Yaz pushed the pain away. They stared at each other, for long moments as the music pulsed around them and the world kept going until Yaz helped her to stand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something shifted between the two of them, a change in the air that Yaz couldn’t quite place in that moment. The air was charged and Yaz opened her mouth to speak when the Master surged forward, pressing their lips together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other times they’d kissed, purely performative and chaste, there had been no emotion. Just lips on lips for the sake of those watching, for the Master’s sake, and, in some way, for Yaz’s sake. This was different. So different.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master’s lips moved against hers with expert ease, heavy and fast and Yaz’s senses were swamped, her mind mulled like she’d downed glass after glass of wine. She responded in kind, kissing the Master with as much fervor as she was given. One of the Master’s hands dropped from her neck to her waist, pulling her in and in. The Master was like a black hole, pulling her further and further in until finally she let Yaz go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz stumbled back away from her, hands raising to her lips of their own accord as the Master winked before disappearing into the crowd. She left a reeling Yaz in her wake, startled confusion coloring her face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master did seem to have to keep a hand on her at all times. A hand or an elbow or really anything that would keep them in physical contact. Yaz wasn't happy about the fact, she'd rather not be dependent on the Master the way that she was, but she knew that the only way to make it through living on Gallifrey was to play by their rules, even if she didn't like them. So, when the next council meeting came around, Yaz sat at the Master's side and let her keep their elbows brushing, Yaz's words were firm, and the Master's voice rang through her head the entire time, making it easier, yes, but leaving a feeling in her gut like something was wrong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was as if the kiss at that dance hadn’t happened, that anything that may have formed between them had fizzled out leaving an empty void in its wake. Yaz didn’t want to think about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Tell them those in Arcadia are well enough without their resources,</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Master said to her, voice ringing through her head, cutting her out of her thoughts. Yaz flushed, hoping the Master hadn’t heard what she was thinking about (though she probably did, knowing the Master) and she shook the voice away. The Master's hand moved to her arm, holding her wrist in a tight grip. Yaz didn't try to pull away but she shot the lightest glare she could without being seen by the Time Lord that was rambling about one thing or another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Those in Arcadia are my people-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You have no people, Yasmin Khan,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Master said, her voice clear in its disdain. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You are here without any people at your back. You are alone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz gritted her teeth and didn't reply, her thoughts swirling in her head. The Master could probably hear them but she didn't want to make it even worse. She could see the Master's eye twitch, a subtle hint that Yaz's act of rebellion had affected her more than she was letting on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned her attention back to the meeting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"On the matter of Arcadia, and supplies needed while they are being assaulted by these storms, what shall be done, Lord President?" The Time Lord who had been aimlessly rambling turned to look at the two of them, and the Master swiftly let go of her wrist, pulling her hand back into her lap as she regarded the other Time Lords with boredom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Arcadia is not my concern," she said flippantly. "A part of Gallifrey it might be, but its people are not my concern." Yaz bit her tongue so hard she tasted copper, and she looked away lest her emotion betray her. "However, I believe Lady Khan had something to say about it last time we held a meeting. I'm sure her input would be appreciated?" The Master's eyes turned to her, Yaz could feel them but she said nothing for a long moment. Her heart raced in her chest, fueled by anger, the likes of which she'd never felt before. Their knees bumped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Steady there, Yasmin,</span>
  </em>
  <span>  the Master said in her head and it was barely a whisper in her head, a hint of a warning. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You wouldn't want to blow this for the both of us, would you?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I hate you, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yaz replied with as much vehement anger as she could. The only reply she got was a quiet chuckle from next to her, just loud enough for Yaz to hear it before the Master quieted herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I believe Arcadia can cope well enough by itself," Yaz said and the words burned her tongue like coals. The Master smirked  at her side and Yaz pointedly ignored her, leaning back in her chair as Yaz continued. "If the storms continue, offering aid might be wise but as for now they are well prepared. Those resources are needed here at the Citadel and the Capitol." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wise words, my lady. It will be done as you and the Lord President have advised," the TIme Lord said and Yaz tuned out the moment the attention turned off of her. The Master ordered a few more things, offered advice in certain areas but Yaz wasn't paying attention. She couldn't pay attention when she'd condemned Arcadia, her </span>
  <em>
    <span>family</span>
  </em>
  <span> to weeks, maybe months of hardship. Her stomach lurched and nausea bubbled in her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master's ankle pressed against her shin, out of sight of the rest of the Council. The Master kept her gaze fixed ahead and Yaz followed suit, not wanting to look at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Well done,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I must admit, I didn't think you'd go through with it and I was fully prepared to cut across with orders again should it have been necessary.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You knew what this meeting was about, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yaz accused, hands clenched into fists for a moment before she forced them to relax. That was the trouble with telepathy, she knew exactly how to get to Yaz but Yaz didn't have a single way of knowing what was going on in her head. It was annoying, and Yaz knew that the Master knew it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You love playing manipulator, don't you?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They don't call me the Master for nothing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Master replied and Yaz didn't need the telepathic link to feel the smugness radiating off of her. Yes, she was certainly doing this intentionally and Yaz should have known better really. She'd been in the Master's company for a bit of time and she knew all the stories. To call the Master a manipulator was like declaring there were two suns in the sky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Was this your plan, then? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yaz asked because there was little else to do than question the Master as to her motives, as to why she would be so set on Yaz facing these kinds of things. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Get me into a position where I have to admit that my people mean nothing to me?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>That was the plan, yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Master replied and she was so smug. Yaz wanted to reach over and hurt her somehow but she couldn't, not with all of the Time Lords sitting there, and the guards standing just beyond them. The Master was still talking, was still holding a whole conversation with one of the Time Lords in the back, an argument about something Yaz couldn't be bothered to care about. The master was clearly in her element in a place like this, standing at the seat of power, even if she wouldn't give it away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"-Lady Khan, what is your opinion?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Tell him the trade deal is preposterous, yes use those words.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Master sensed her objecting before she could even properly form it into a thought and Yaz fought to keep her face neutral, hiding the irritation that was flooding through her with each moment she was forced to sit there. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And tell him that they would never accept our terms, no matter how much we attempted to push for what would be the best interest of their people.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz did as she was bid, she had no other choice. The Hall was silent and Yaz hated the way her voice rebounded back to her. That didn't sound like her, that cool tone and the Time Lord she was speaking to flushed at the word preposterous. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're nothing but a human," he said petulantly, folding his arms over his chest with a huff. "What would you know of trade deals in Gallifrey and beyond?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're the one who asked my opinion," Yaz retorted with a firm voice. "I gave my input at your bid." The Master’s hand moved over her own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're clearly just agreeing with whatever the Lord President says," the Time Lord retorted and the Master's grip on her hand tightened for a single moment, nearly cutting the blood off from her fingers completely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm doing no such thing," Yaz said, before the Master could interject, mentally or verbally. There was a moment of bated breath before Yaz pushed on. "Despite what you and the others might think, I am my own person with my own beliefs and my own thoughts and my own opinions. While I may not be well versed in this area, anyone would be able to tell that what you're demanding from this trade deal is preposterous."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blustered for a moment longer, going on about one thing or another before another Time Lord spoke up and took his place, asserting another issue into the Council Meeting. The Master's hand slowly drifted from hers but she kept a foot pressed to hers to keep that connection, smirking when Yaz sent as much animosity as she could through their connection. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master made sure she was having lessons on the inner workings of Time Lord society, even if the Master herself wasn't there to oversee them. Yaz didn't know the names of anyone who came to teach her, and they always changed and Yaz wondered if that was another one of the Master's tactics to keep her on her feet, keep her disoriented enough that she had all the control. It's not like she needed to go to all the trouble, Yaz knew where all the power lay in their tenuous alliance and hadn't thought any of it shifted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the Master made her study and quizzed her at times when she stumbled across her wandering the halls, when they were eating together (well, Yaz ate, the Master just sat and looked bored), or as they walked back from meetings or other activities. Simple questions, harder questions, it didn't really matter to the Master but over time Yaz got used to the quizzing and was getting quite well versed in Time Lord society, though she still stumbled without the Master offering support.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were holding another open forum, however, and Yaz was required to attend, much to her displeasure. The Master didn't drag her to meetings often purely because it was "a hassle to deal with pompous Time Lords and an ignorant human at the same time" (the Master's own words of course) but when it came to keeping up the facade of the Lord President and her wife, neither of them really had a choice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was how Yaz found herself perched in an uncomfortable chair, waiting for the citizens of Gallifrey to come and plead for something from the Lord President, something that she most likely wouldn't give them. The Master's hand settled on her arm, a strangely forward display of affection that Yaz didn't read too much into. Just before they were set to open the doors, the Master's voice rang through her head, just as clear as it had every other time they'd done the same thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You won't advocate for the life of some prisoner today, will you?</span>
  </em>
  <span> she asked and Yaz shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Depends on what they've done wrong,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she retorted and the Master chuckled, proper chuckled not just in her head and before Yaz could say anything else, the doors opened and Yaz caught a brief glimpse of the line awaiting them and settled in for a long day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Most of the disputes were simple arguments that the Master settled on a whim. Almost every decision she came to, Yaz would have done the opposite of and halfway through a bickering group of farmers discussing land divisions, the Master prodded her brain (it would never feel right, that action).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Are these the kinds of disputes the people outside the Citadel really have? </span>
  </em>
  <span>she asked, and Yaz almost mistook it for proper interest and concern before she saw the Master yawn and slouch in her chair as one of the guards had to step between the farmers. They looked about to brawl in the middle of the Citadel and the Master did not' seem to care much about that. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Your lot are so petty.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They're hungry, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yaz snapped back before she could help herself. The savage tone seemed to startle the Master for a moment before she turned back to the famers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If you don't stop fighting for a moment I'll have all of your land claimed in the name of the Citadel, and I'm sure that's something you'd all wish to avoid," the Master said, her voice firm. The tension surrounding the farmers didn't dissipate but they stopped trying to exchange blows with each other and Yaz had to give credit to the Master for that one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you,</span>
  </em>
  <span> her voice came, smug and full of that arrogance that Yaz really had come to expect from her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I've been handling these sorts of disputes for ages, Yasmin, I know the people are hungry and I know these disputes like the back of my hand. I've been dealing with them for years. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She leaned forward a bit, clearing her throat even as she continued to speak to Yaz. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The key is to keep them fighting each other.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Divide your lands equally among yourselves," the Master said and before there could be any protest, she held up a hand,expression hard. "If one of you gets so much as one meter more than the other, your lands will be confiscated and made in service to the Citadel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Our families are starving, Madam President," one of the farmers said and Yaz didn't know whether to call him brave or stupid. "What land we have now is not enough to feed us and making them smaller will not hel-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You asked for a solution to your land disputes," the Master replied. "This is my final decision. Might I suggest instead of each of you hoarding your land, you work to harvest all that you can and divide that among yourselves." She shrugged. "That's on your shoulders. Next case, please."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was little protest as the farmers were led away and Yaz looked at the Master, eyebrow slightly raised before turning her attention to the next case. And on and on it went, well into the evening, with the Master giving her rulings which bordered on the edge of fair before they slipped backwards into keeping control over the population. Yaz spoke occasionally, each time guided by the Master and the hand never left her arm, even when her thoughts were strangely void of the Master's voice. It became a sort of comforting weight there, grounding Yaz and occasionally reminding her to pay attention to what was being discussed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were a few groups from Arcadia that came, that pled for relief from their dangerously low food stores, the rations that were already spread thin even as more storms threatened to assail them and the Master only looked to Yaz, who had to look each of them in the eye and reply that little relief would be coming. Her insides twisted the whole time she spoke but the Master looked more than ecstatic at her words and gave her arm a squeeze when the groups had left. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There are more people, Lord President," Ryan said, perching at the edge of the platform where they were sitting. "Shall I have them sent in?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A couple more," the Master said. "Three more disputes and then we'll retire for the day. I have other business I need to attend to paperwork and such."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz hadn't the faintest clue what kind of paperwork the master could possible be talking about, but she did recall her griping over lunch the previous day about trade deals and things only Lord President of the Time Lords on Gallifrey could worry about (TARDIS allocations, budgets for the CIA, et cetera) and supposes that's what the Master had been putting off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The first two of the next disputes are more about farming land, one about a couple of animal herders disputing some mountain territory and the other more fields, the Master deciding equal division being the most fair. She'd even offered to send official surveyors out to the former group to divide up the land as evenly as they could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everything fell apart at the third dispute.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They entered quietly and Yaz almost forgot there was supposed to be another group of people to voice their problems. She turned to the Master, opened her mouth to say something but a warning flashed through her brain and she turned just in time to see the faces of those entering the hall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They're starving,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she told the Master, as if the Master didn't have eyes and hadn't already taken the information before Yaz had even seen them. She'd probably got more information than that, Time Lords seemed to have a sixth sense for people (a part of her said telepathy and she didn't know if that was the Master or her own brain) but Yaz couldn't help it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A lot of people are starving, Yasmin,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Master replied shortly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now, if you'd kindly be quiet for this, it shouldn't take too long.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Offer them food, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yaz said before she could stop herself, earning a warning squeeze on her arm. Well, she was already in the thick of it, might as well keep going in the hopes that the Master would forgive her later (she probably wouldn't). </span>
  <em>
    <span>I know you don't want to be seen as a benign ruler but they'll spend longer complaining about being hungry if you don't offer them food. And the other Time Lords might keep off your back about these sorts of open forums.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You’re learning how to play the game, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Master said and Yaz didn’t even have a moment to preen under the praise before she was motioning one of the stewards forward, whispering to them for a moment before they went scurrying off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What brings you to the Citadel?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Our village burned, Madam President,” said a woman towards the front of the group, head bowed respectfully. “We have no food and very little water. Our entire harvest was lost in the blaze, we come asking for food and aid for repairing our homes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who are you?” the Master asked, looking across the rag tag group. “Is this all your village could spare for travel?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We were the most fit,” the woman, most likely the leader, replied. “The others were wounded or are caring for the wounded. There are so few of us, please Lord President-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman was cut off by the steward the Master had sent off returning with a platter full of food that they offered to the travelers. There was silent as they regarded the food warily for a moment before they took bits and pieces of the food, eating quietly while the Master looked at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What are you going to do to them? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yaz asked and the Master only offered a small smirk in return.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Once you have eaten, return to your people. Tell them that we will send aid in three weeks to assist your people. We would send them sooner but there are several areas also requesting assistance and it’s the best that we can do.” Yaz held back a scoff. All afternoon she’d seen group after group turned away, there was no reason to refuse them help for so long. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Surely we can do it in two weeks,” Yaz said before she could help herself. She hoped she kept her voice low enough so no one else would hear but there was a small murmur from the crowd. She pressed forward. “I’ll organize it myself if I must, but-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Lady Khan,” the Master snapped. It was as if the whole room flinched. “We’ll discuss this later.” She turned back to address those in the room. “You may rest here tonight and return to your people tomorrow. We will send what resources we have as quickly as we can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The leader nodded and they were ushered out of the room. Unlike other meetings, few of the Time Lords lingered in the hall, leaving Yaz and the Master mostly to themselves. It didn’t matter who was in the room with them, however, as the Master gripped her arm so tight it would most likely bruise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell were you thinking? </span>
  </em>
  <span>she demanded, and Yaz flinched away from the tone as if the Master had spoken aloud. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I've told you dozens of times to follow my lead, do as I advised you-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You're people are starving, Lord President,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yaz retorted, though it wasn't as strong as she wished it had been.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>And you are standing by and letting it happen, refusing to offer aid. I understand there might be some sort of underlying powerplay-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You have no idea of anything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Master snapped back. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Usurping my authority like that will put us both at risk. You stupid human. This is your final warning. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz had no choice but to follow as the Master got to her feet and walked back to their shared wing of the Citadel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*******</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In meetings after that, Yaz was sure to follow what the Master said to the letter, never straying from the script that was fed to her,despite how reluctant she was to do so. It had been thrilling in the beginning, the Master's voice against her mind like a devil on her shoulder, whispering into her ear and tempting her but now it was tedious, making sure she didn't step a centimeter out of line or face whatever consequences the Master had devised, because no doubt there would be consequences.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz lingered after a meeting one day, letting the Master speak to whoever she was speaking to while she wandered and looked at the decorations. She'd learned her lesson last time, and though she wished to assist the servants with whatever they were doing, there were still plenty of Time Lords looking and they would surely tell the Master. Or the Master would find out in one of her various ways, the walls seemed to have eyes, always working on the Master's behalf. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryan sidled up to her side while she wandered, walking by her side and she stifled a chuckle into her hand as he straightened his back and looked about, face set in stone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you trying to look like some sort of bird?" she asked. "You're strutting about like one."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm on duty, Lady Khan," Ryan said and she could hear the smile in his voice without having to look. "And your safety is of the utmost importance." He relaxed a little though, and looked to her for a moment. "Is everything alright?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Just thinkin," Yaz replied and the bit of honesty was relieving. "It's been a very stressful time." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I hear the Master is turning you into a halfway presentable Time Lord," he said and Yaz laughed, shaking her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's trying very hard. Having people give me lessons and everything and I have to admit, so many the weird, pompous traditions of this place are so old no one quite remembers what their exact purpose is but they do know they have to keep doing them." She shook her head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, Graham told me to tell you that you're welcome down in the kitchen at any time. I think he rather liked having you around before you got married to our wonderful Lord President," Ryan made a face and Yaz couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "And having dinner with one of the other people trapped in this place would probably lift his spirits a bit. Give it a thought?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Of course," Yaz said. "A little time away from all the pomp of the Time Lords might do me some good. This place really starts to wear on you, whether or not I like to admit it." She shuddered slightly and before Ryan could reply, there was a hand against the small of her back, making her seize up. Ryan's expression shifted immediately, hardening as he snapped to attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lord President," he said, voice monotone and the Master came up beside Yaz, pressing against her side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Having a pleasant conversation? </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Master asked, smugness oozing from every word. Yaz gave a non committal hum. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don't worry, I'm not going to yell at you for making pleasant with your guard. Most Time Lords wouldn't do it, but at least it's better than one of the servants.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He's my friend,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yaz started to say but was interrupted by the Master addressing Ryan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"At ease and don't hang about. Make sure there are guards posted in my wing and then...do whatever it is you people do." She waved a hand and Ryan nodded, twisting on his heel to move towards the exit to the hall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You didn't need to send him away," Yaz muttered and the Master's hand on her back squeezed her tunic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll do as I please," the Master said. "Why do you always seem to forget who holds the power here?" Yaz went to answer but a warning shot through her mind, an alarm bell of sorts from the Master as she turned them both physically towards one side of the room. "General!" the Master said brightly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just wanted to stop by and compliment Lady Khan on her work recently. I know adjusting to Time Lord society can be difficult for many and impossible for some.," the General said, nodding to the Master before turning attention to Yaz, who squirmed a bit under the intense gaze. "You've certainly improved since you got here and I'm hoping to see more of your progress the longer you're here with us."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thank you," Yaz said and the General nodded before wandering back to speak with the remaining Time Lords.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She's quite fond of you, as much as a Time Lord could be with a human, </span>
  </em>
  <span> The Master said quietly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Almost as bad as the Doctor-calm down, Yasmin.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yaz hadn't been able to help the flare of anger that surged at the Doctor's name and she shook it off with an embarrassed huff.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry. Are we done here?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, come, we'll walk back to the wing and make sure Sinclair actually managed to do his job,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Master's tone was snide and Yaz shot her glare that really didn't seem to do much. She wasn't that mad at the Master (she had worse problems than some annoyed grumbling about one of Yaz's only friends in the Citadel) and as they wandered back to their wing, Yaz found herself feeling more...at peace than she had in ages, even with all the pressure and the problems swirling about the entire situation with the Master and the Doctor and all the other Time Lords she was forced to deal with. If anything, the little bit of homesickness she'd felt was starting to subside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How much longer do you think it will take for the Doctor to come?" Yaz asked as they walked. She was growing more familiar with this place but it had become some kind of a habit for the Master to walk her back to her room when she had the time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hopefully not much longer," The Master said. "I'd like to return to my life as it was and I'm sure you are to." Yaz shrugged and the Master glanced at her. "Or maybe you're not?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's a bit lavish but there wasn't much for me back home," Yaz says, glad when they reach the door she's come to know as hers. Discussing her past (well, pre-Citadel life) with the Master didn't seem like something that would be enjoyable for either of them and putting that sort of stupid worry on the Master didn't seem like a smart decision. It would probably be held over her head. Her eye got caught on the bit of writing stuck next to her door, that circular Gallifreyan she'd never been able to figure out. "What does that say?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Master looked at it for a long moment and drew her arm away from Yaz's, almost like she didn't want her to have a glimpse into her mind (not that Yaz knew how to do that, the intrusive telepathy the Master used seemed to go only one way, no matter what Yaz wanted) and then she blinked and looked at Yaz. She said nothing and reached out her hand, which Yaz took almost on instinct. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a brief brush of lips to the gold band about her wrist, another to the back of her knuckles and the Master was giving her a strange look, an expression that Yaz couldn't read before she let Yaz's hand go. It dropped limply against her side and before Yaz could say anything else, the Master was walking away, presumably moving to her own room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That night, Yaz lay in bed, thoughts racing through a myriad of topics, but always coming back to that look on the Master's face that had seemed so out of place on her normally snide and dangerous features. She didn't dare dream it were something bordering fondness. No, she didn't dare think it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She dared to dream it.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope everyone has a good New Year and stays safe and that 2021 treats everyone kinder than 2020 did.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yell at me on tumblr <a href="https://joanwolfe.tumblr.com/">@joanwolfe</a> or give me prompts or anything really. i'll try to have the next chapter up by next week but i'm still shaky as to what the posting schedule for this will look like so bear with me. </p>
<p>until next time,</p>
<p>~~ jo</p></blockquote></div></div>
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